A Monthly  Publication  for  the  Clergy 

Cum  Jlpprohatione  Superiorum 


BLESSED  NOTKER’S  ALLELUIATIC  SEQUENCE 449 

The  Rev.  T.  I.  O’MAHONY,  D.D.,  All  Hallows’  College,  Dublin,  Ireland. 

MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT 460 

E.  M.  SHAPCOTE,  St.  Mary’s,  Torquay,  England. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE.  (Concluded.) 468 

DOM  H.  PHILIBERT  FEASEY,  O.S.B.,  F.R.Hist.Soc.,  Ramsgate,  Rent, 
England. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON 500 

The  Rev.  EDWARD  F.  X.  McSWEENY,  A.M.,  S.T.D.,  Mt.  St.  Mary’s,  Emmits- 
burg,  Md. 


CONTENTS  CONTINUED  INSIDE. 


Published  at  PHILADELPHIA,  825  ARCH  STREET 


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Fourth  Series — Vol.  II. — (XXXII).— May,  1905. — No.  5. 


BLESSED  NOTKER’S  ALLELUIATIC  SEQUENCE 

'*  ' . 

THIS  is  in  the  form  of  a canticle  calling  on  all 'treated  nature 
to  join  in  the  Divine  acclamation,  and  so  commencing 
Cantemus  cuncti  melodum  nunc  Alleluia!  Written  at  the  end  of 
the  ninth  century,  or  the  beginning  of  the  tenth,  the  period  usually 
identified  with  the  darkest  of  the  so-called  Dark  Ages,  this  noble 
canticle  voices  the  universal  spirit  of  its  refrain  with  a concentrated 
force  of  thought  and  perfection  of  verbal  expression  equalled  by 
no  lyrical  utterance  of  the  kind,  as  far  as  I know,  in  any  tongue 
outside  the  Hebrew  psalms.  The  subject  is  not  only  an  inter- 
esting one,  but  deserves  for  various  reasons  special  attention. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  a body  of 
sacred  lyrics  almost  wholly  forgotten,  at  least  in  English-speaking 
countries  ; furthermore,  it  possesses  a wholly  distinctive  character 
from  a liturgical  point  of  view ; but  above  all  it  is  a piece  of  work 
remarkable  for  the  rare  perfection  of  its  lyrical  technique — having, 
of  course,  regard  to  what  might  be  called  the  lyrical  mentality  of 
the  age  in  which  it  was  written.  In  these  days  of  superficial 
thinking,  and  consequently  careless,  slovenly  writing,  it  is  well  for 
us  from  time  to  time  to  note  the  careful  diction  of  the  early  whole- 
souled  monastic  compositions.  There  are,  moreover,  accidental 
items  of  special  interest  for  us  connected  with  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  the  author  of  this  canticle,  and  with  the  history  of  his 
house  at  the  time  he  wrote  it. 

In  his  Mediceval  Hymns , Dr.  Neale  assumes  the  piece  to  have 
been  written  by  Godescalchus.  Apparently,  on  the  authority  of 


450 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


this  en  passant  ascription,  some  more  recent  writers  have  made 
the  same  statement,  which  is  certainly  erroneous.  The  piece  is 
one  of  the  numerous  sequences  composed  by  the  first  celebrated 
writer — some  say  even  the  originator — of  this  form  of  lyrical  com- 
position, Blessed  Notker  of  Saint  Gall’s,  the  monastery  in  German 
Switzerland  which  was  founded  by  one  of  the  Irish-born  com- 
panions of  S.  Columbanus,  and  long  remained  one  of  Europe’s 
chief  schools  of  high-class  hymnody.  Not  only  do  the  recog- 
nized modern  authorities  on  mediaeval  sequences,  such  as  Daniel, 
Kehrein,  and  Chevalier  in  his  Repertorium  Hymnologicum } but 
also  Brander  (1507),  perhaps  our  best  ancient  authority  on  such 
a subject,  and  himself  a monk  of  St.  Gall’s,  unhesitatingly  ascribe 
the  sequence  to  Blessed  Notker. 

On  the  Continent  the  piece  is  indifferently  known  as  The  Alle- 
luiatic  Sequence , or  Notker' s Canticle. 

Owing  to  a slight  stuttering,  its  author  was  called  Balbulus  by 
his  contemporaries,  after  the  sobriquet-giving  custom  of  the  day, 
probably  also  to  distinguish  him  from  others  of  the  same  name. 
In  liturgical  collections  and  biographical  notices,  he  is  generally 
called  Saint  Notker.  He  was,  indeed,  beatified  by  Pope  Julius  II, 
in  1573,  and  an  office  in  his  honor  used  to  be  celebrated  in  St. 
Gall’s.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  was  never  formally  canon- 
ized, although  he  is  universally  recognized  as  a saintly  character. 
He  refused  various  offers  of  ecclesiastical  preferment  outside  his 
monastery,  and  discharged  many  important  offices  in  it.  In  its 
annals,  he  is  given  for  890  as  librarian,  and  for  892  and  894  as 
guestmaster  ( hospitarius ),  offices  for  which  the  same  individual  is 
rarely  well  fitted,  but  for  both  of  which  the  convent’s  chronicle 
gives  us  to  understand  that  he  was  perfectly  suited  ; being  a person 
of  pleasing  manners,  of  unstudied  yet  graceful  bearing,  of  gentle 
speech  and  of  a bright,  joyous  nature,  easily  pleased  and  anxious 

1 The  sub-title  of  this  work  is  “ Catalogue  des  Chants,  Hymnes,  Proses, 
Sequences,  Tropes,  en  usage  dans  l’Eglise  depuis  les  origines  jusqu’  a nos  jours  : 
extrait  des  Analecta  Bollandiana.  Imprimerie  Lefebvre,  Louvain,  1892.”  Our 
Sequence  is  thus  noted : Cantemus  cuncti  Melodum  mcnc  Alleluia. — In  laudibus 
Sabb.  ante  Septuages.  (Domin.)  : Notkerus  Balbulus.  There  is  then  given  for 
printed  reference  the  fullest  list  of  authorities  I have  seen  on  the  subject.  The 
alleged  doubts  upon  which  some  would  ascribe  the  piece  to  Godescalchus  appear  to 
be  all  of  a purely  negative  character. 


BLESSED  NO TKER'S  ALLEL VIA  TIC  SEQUENCE . 45  I 


to  please  all  about  him ; altogether,  it  would  seem,  a man  posses- 
sing a singularly  lovable  personality.2 

He  commenced  writing  his  famous  sequences  about  862,  and  in 
882  collected  all  (up  to  then  written)  into  a volume  under  the  title 
of  Liber  Sequentiarum  Notkeri . In  the  preface  he  suggests  that  he 

first  took  to  writing  them  as  mnemonics  for  existing  Alleluiatic 
pneumes  ; those  wordless  cantata,  lately  composed  in  a variety  of 
modes  for  the  choir  and  people  to  sing  forth  the  final  a of  the 
Alleluia  chanted  between  the  Epistle  and  Gospel.  The  idea  of 
doing  something  of  the  kind  occurred  to  him,  he  says,  while  quite 
young,  when  vexed  with  the  difficulty  he  experienced  as  a chor- 
ister in  remembering  the  notes  of  these  complicated  series  of 
musical  phrases,  in  which  he  was  expected  to  join : as  he  himself 
prettily  puts  it:  “ quum  adhuc  juvenculus  essem  et  melodiae 
saepius  mnemonice  commendatae  instabile  corculum  aufugerent, 
coepi  tacitus  mecum  volvere  quonam  modo  eas  potuerim  colli- 
gere.” 3 He  often  afterwards  spoke  upon  the  subject  to  others. 
Once,  having  had  some  discussion  with  a friend  in  regard  to  it,  he 
was  shown  a pneume  with  words  adapted  to  the  music  but  merely 
as  mnemonics.  Upon  this  he  decided  to  write  words  that  should 
serve  not  merely  as  mnemonics  for  the  music,  but  words  that  should 

2 More  than  a century  after  Notker’s  death  Ekkhard  (IV)  in  his  .Casus  Sancii 
Galli  recalls  his  memory  in  affectionate  terms.  He  was,  the  chronicler  says  in 
the  original  text,  “corpore  non  animo  gracilis  ; voce  non  spiritu  balbulus  ; in  divinis 
erectus,  in  adversis  patiens,  ad  omnia  mitis ; in  nostratium  acer  erat  exactor  discip- 
line. Ad  repentina  et  inopinata  timidulus  erat,  praeter  daemones  infestantes  quibus 
se  audenter  opponere  solebat.  In  orando,  legendo,  dictando,  erat  creberrimus.  Et, 
ut  omnes  sanctitatis  ejus  complectar  dotes,  Sancti  Spiritus  erat  vasculura  quo  suo 
tempore  abundantius  nullum.”  In  addition  to  that  Casus  S.  Galli , by  Ekkhard  IV 
(d.  1060),  and  numerous  incidental  references  by  mediaeval  writers,  our  principal 
ancient  MS.  source  of  information  is  Vita  Sancti  Notkeri,  by  Ekkhard  V (1220). 
This  detailed  life  (in  six  chapters)  is  given  in  Goldast’s  Rerum  Alamman.  Scrip- 
tores  aliquod  vetusti  (Francof.  1661),  being  there  printed  from  the  St.  Gall  MSS. 
It  was  also  printed  with  the  Processus  Canonizationis  ex  MS.  eciitus,  by  D.  Canisius. 
With  that  and  some  excellent  preliminary  and  marginal  notes,  it  will  be  found  in  the 
Bollandist  Acta  Sanctorum , for  April  6,  p.  576.  Among  modern  biographical 
notices,  the  latest,  fullest,  and  most  critically  written  I know  of,  is  Lebensbild  des 
heiligen  Notker  von  S.  Gallen,  by  C.  Meyer  von  Kronan,  Zurich,  1877. 

3 The  text  of  that  preface  is  given  in  Daniel  (copied  from  the  MSS.  preserved 
at  St.  Gall’s).  It  is  also  given  in  Pezzi’s  Thesaurus , at  the  head  of  the  series  of 
Notkerian  sequences,  which  he  prints  as  “ sung  at  Mass.”  Part  of  it  is  printed  in 
Dr.  Neale’s  Preface  to  his  Sequentiae  ex  Missalibus  Medii  Aevi,  London,  1863. 


452 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  TV. 


embody  sacred  thoughts  breathing  the  spirit  of  the  feast  or  season 
for  which  the  musical  pneume  had  been  composed.  These  lyric 
expressions  of  sacred  thought  might  thus  be  made  to  serve  a 
further  liturgical  purpose  than  merely  to  fill  out  the  interval  be- 
tween the  Epistle  and  Gospel  at  Mass.  In  this  way  began  and, 
with  the  judicious  revision  of  Marcellus,  the  Convent’s  Magister 
Choralis , gradually  grew  the  long  list  of  Notkerian  sequences. 
Contemporary  authorities  appear  to  have  fully  recognized  the 
high  order  of  learning,  spiritual  insight,  and  lyrical  genius,  as  well 
as  liturgical  value,  which  a later  age  assigned  to  these  compo- 
sitions.4 

Even  outside  Germany,  during  their  author’s  lifetime,  these 
sequences  were  employed  for  a variety  of  liturgical  purposes. 
The  Alleluiatic  sequence,  which  immediately  concerns  us  here, 
was,  it  is  said,  originally  known  as  “ The  Deposition  of  Alleluia  ” 
at  Lauds  on  the  eve  of  Septuagesima  Sunday ; hence  its  special 
theme  of  hymning  forth  the  mystic  acclaim’s  everlastingness  and 
universality  throughout  creation.  But  it  was  sung  at  other  times 
also.  Brander,  in  his  Book  of  Sequences  (1507),  represents  it  as 
sung  “ especially  during  the  octave  of  the  Epiphany,”  meaning, 
no  doubt,  in  his  time  and  country,  as  a song  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving for  the  showing  forth  of  the  Light  of  the  World. 

The  text  slightly  varies  in  the  different  ancient  MSS.  still 
extant.  Among  them  is  one  of  the  eleventh  century,  of  which 
copies  are  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum  and  at  St.  Gall’s. 
It  is  printed  in  most  of  the  collections  of  mediaeval  hymns  (such 

4 “ Praecipuam  laudem  S.  Notkerus  Balbulus  retulit  a Sequentiario  de  quo  agi- 
tur  C.  4 Vitae:  cujus  occasione,  ibidem  refertur,  ab  Innocentio  III  Sanctorum  ho- 
noribus  dignus  pronuntiatus,  licet  San-gallenses  eatenus  de  illo  sicut  pro  alio  defuncto 
egissent.”  Bollandist  Acta  Sanctorum , VI  Aprilis,  p.  57S.  Now,  Innocent  III 
(1198-1216),  who  so  admired  B.  Notker’s  sequences,  was  not  only  one  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  his  age,  but  also  an  expert  in  the  matter  of  sacred  song. 

The  Rev.  I.  Mearn  (Glasgow  University),  the  assistant  editor  of  Julian’s 
Dictionary  of  Hymnology , writes  : “ Notker’s  sequences  are  remarkable  for  their 
majesty  and  noble  elevation  of  tone,  their  earnestness  and  their  devoutness.  They 
display  a profound  knowledge  of  Ploly  Scripture  in  its  plainer  and  more  recondite 
interpretations  and  a firm  grasp  and  definite  exposition  of  the  eternal  truths  of  the 
Christian  faith.  The  style  is  clear  and  the  language  easily  comprehensible  ; so  that, 
whether  he  is  paraphrasing  the  Gospel  for  the  day,  or  setting  forth  the  leading  ideas 
of  the  Church’s  festivals,  or  is  engaged  in  vivid  and  sympathetic  word  painting,  he 
is  at  once  pleasing  and  accurate.” 


BLESSED  NO  TREE'S  ALLEL  VIA  TIC  SEQ  UENCE.  45  3 


as  Mone’s,  Daniel’s,  Kehrein’s),  and  in  some  recent  liturgical 
anthologies.  The  method  of  printing  it,  as  is  occasionally  done 
in  short  prose  phrases,  like  the  translations  of  the  Hebrew  psalms 
in  our  Latin  and  English  Bibles,  is  rather  objectionable,  since  it 
takes  away  the  rhythmic  effect  which  gives  to  such  compositions  a 
sort  of  lyrical  life.  The  better  way  of  printing  it  is  in  the  short 
irregular  lines  of  the  original  Troparium  to  suit  the  musical 
phrases  of  the  pneume  for  which  it  was  written. 

Its  language — Latin,  like  that  of  all  Blessed  Notker’s 
sequences — is  remarkably  pure  for  the  period  and  eminently 
tuneful.  Although  there  are  no  regular  rhyme  endings,  nor  any 
fixed  form  of  metre,  in  accordance  with  its  special  purpose  as  a 
prose  or  sequence  for  the  music  of  an  Alleluiatic  pneume , one 
feels  the  rhythmic  beat  of  every  line,  with  the  distinctive  character 
of  each  phrase.  Take  as  an  example  the  sacrum  seplenarium  of 
the  opening — Cantemus  cuncti  melodum  nunc  Al’leluia!  Al- 
though there  is,  as  already  stated,  no  rhyme  in  the  now  received 
sense  of  the  term,  an  ear  accustomed  to  lyrical  analysis  may 
throughout  detect  varying  forms  of  that  regulated  assonance 
which  at  the  time  of  its  composition  took  the  place  of  rhyme,  and 
to  which  the  ears  of  early  mediaeval  writers  were  peculiarly  sen- 
sitive. Note,  for  instance,  the  consonantal  sequence  and  related 
vowel  assonance  of  these  two  verses  (3  and  4)  corresponding  to 
successive  musical  phrases  : — 

“ Hoc  beatorum  | per  prata  paradisiaca  | psallat  concentus  : Alleluia  ! 

Quin  et  astrorum  | micantia  luminaria  | jubilent  altum  : Alleluia  ! ” 

The  distinctive  character  of  this  Alleluiatic  song  is  that  ol 
hymning  forth  the  universal  rather  than  the  merely  Paschal  spirit 
of  its  refrain.  To  this  end  its  opening  line  is  invitatory,  giving 
the  motive  or  tone-thought  of  the  whole.  What  follows  may  be 
taken  for  that  thought’s  natural  evolution,  in  so  far  as  such  would 
be  the  expression  of  universal  sympathy  and  clear  mental  vision. 
In  this  evolution  of  the  tone-thought  we  recognize  a power  of 
artistic  self-utterance  not  often  found  even  in  such  compositions. 
There  is  the  pure  verbal  music  of  the  well  chosen  words,  the 
flowing  melody  and  continuous  harmony  of  the  phrasing,  and, 
above  all,  there  is  the  true  artist’s  choice  of  tinted  terms  to 
exhibit  the  varying  shades  of  thought  and  feeling  proper  to  each 


454 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


fresh  presentation  of  the  fundamental  theme.  For  instance,  to 
express  the  thought  of  “singing”  the  word  changes  from  phrase 
to  phrase,  as  the  thought’s  varying  shades  require.  Thus  success- 
ively we  met  cantans , concinnens,  dulci-sonans , jubilans , psallens , 
pangens , all  expressing  in  different  forms  the  sense  of  Pange 
lingua.  The  same  is  true  for  other  varying  modes  of  expression. 
We  have  no  terms  in  modern  speech  to  express  with  like  effect 
the  delicate  shades  of  meaning  implied  in  these  words,  although 
the  purely  lyrical  qualities  of  the  Alleluiatic  sequence  afford 
special  facilities  for  effectively  translating  it  into  English  rhythm. 
As  a matter  of  fact,  there  are  several  recent  renderings  of  it  in 
English.  The  first,  and  perhaps  most  widely  known  is  Dr.  Neale’s.5 

The  translator  seeks  as  far  as  possible  to  reproduce  in  his  terms 
the  original’s  shades  of  thought,  and  has  admirably  succeeded  in 
his  effort  to  suit  the  lines  and  verses  to  its  varying  musical  forms. 
This  seems  particularly  true  of  the  way  in  which  he  has  caught 
up  the  spirit  of  lyrical  transitions  from  mode  to  mode,  even  chang- 
ing his  metre,  or  modifying  its  aural  impression  as  the  successive 
measures  of  the  original  required.  Thus,  after  his  rendering  of 
the  opening  passages  calling  on  “the  people”  ( plebs ) to  join  in 
the  praises  of  “ the  Eternal  King,”  in  harmony  with  the  Angelic 
Choirs  ( coelestes  chori  qui  cantant  in  altuni)  and  that  of  the  Blessed 
through  the  fields  of  Paradise  ( beatorum  per  prata  paradisiaca), 
he  reproduces  the  stately  measure  of  the  call  upon  the  heavenly 
hosts  to  give  glory  : — 

“ Ye  planets  glittering  on  your  heavenly  way, 

Ye  shining  constellations,  join  and  say  : 

Alleluia  !” 

Then,  quickening  his  measure,  he  takes  up  the  Hymn’s  breezy 
course  through  the  terrestrial  forms  of  creation,  first  those  of 
inanimate  nature : — 

5 With  reference  to  the  general  body  of  the  Notkerian  sequences,  we  read  in 
Julian’s  Dictionary  : “ The  only  literal  version  which  has  attained  to  any  popularity 
in  English  is  Dr.  Neale’s  translation  of  No.  56,  Cantemus  cuncti.  Referring  to  that 
himself  in  the  Preface  to  his  second  edition  of  Mediceval  Hymns  (1863),  Dr.  Neale 
says  : ‘ Every  sentence,  I had  almost  said  every  word,  of  the  version  was  carefully 
fitted  to  the  (original)  music : the  length  of  the  lines  corresponds  to  the  length  of 
each  troparion  in  the  original.  ’ ’ ’ The  writer  in  the  Dictionary  adds  : “it  has  passed 
into  almost  every  hymnal  published  since  that  date  (1863).’’ 


BLESSED  NO  TKER'S  ALLEL  UIA  TIC  SEQ  UENCE.  45  5 


“Ye  clouds  that  onward  sweep, 

Ye  winds  on  pinion’s  light, 

Ye  thunders  loud  and  deep, 

Ye  lightnings  wildly  bright, 

In  sweet  consent  unite 

Your  Alleluia  !” 

Then  with  Nature’s  quickening  sense  of  change,  the  measure 
still  more  quickly  flows  : — 

“ Ye  floods  and  ocean  billows, 

Ye  storms  and  winter  snow, 

Ye  days  of  cloudless  beauty, 

Hoar  frost  and  summer  glow, 

Ye  groves  that  wave  in  Spring, 

And  glorious  forests,  sing  : 

Alleluia  !” 

Again  the  measure  changes  with  the  call  for  the  ordered  song 
of  living  beings  : — 

“ First  let  the  birds  with  painted  plumage  gay 
Exalt  their  great  Creator’s  praise  and  say  ; 

Alleluia ! 

Then  let  the  beasts  of  Earth  with  varying  strain 
Join  in  Creation’s  Hymn  and  cry  again  : 

Alleluia  !” 


Thereupon  comes  another  and  slower  measure  to  meet  the 
thought  of  Earth’s  own  song,  changing  in  form  to  suit  its  term- 
thoughts  as  the  call  proceeds  : — 


“ Here  let  the  mountains  thunder  forth  sonorous  : 

Alleluia ! 

There  let  the  valleys  sing  in  gentler  chorus  : 

Alleluia ! 

Thou  jubilant  abyss  of  Ocean  cry : 

Alleluia ! 


Ye  tracts  and  continents  reply  : 

Alleluia !” 


Finally  comies  its  appropriate  measure  for  the  universal  syn- 
thesis : — 

“To  God  who  all  creation  made 
The  frequent  Hymn  be  duly  paid : 

Alleluia,  Alleluia  ! ” 

The  reader  notes  how  the  version’s  measure  changes  to  suit 
the  final  liturgical  applications  of  the  original.  The  conclusion  is 


456 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


in  various  ways  characteristic.  First,  it  suggests  the  character  of 
the  choir  for  which  the  sequence  was  meant,  as  being  a choir  com- 
posed of  men  (vos,  o socii , cantate ) and  little  boys  ( vosy  pueruli , 
respondete ),  at  times  joined  by  the  people  present  ( omnes — as  at  the 
beginning  plebs).  Here  are  the  concluding  lines,  printed  in  the 
order  of  the  ancient  Troparium , the  first  of  each  verse  being  as  a 
rubric’s  direction : — 

“ Nunc  omnes  canite  simul  : 

Alleluia  Domino, 

Alleluia  Christo, 

Pneumatique  Alleluia. 

Laus  Trinitati  Etemae : 

Alleluia — Alleluia, 

Alleluia — Alleluia, 

Alleluia — Alleluia  ! ” 

Mark  the  archaic  sequence : Domino , Christo , Pneumatique , 
the  third  term  being  the  Greek  form  for  Spirituique.  Then 
note  the  trine  synthetic  acclaim  for  finale  with  its  echoing  re- 
sponses, no  doubt,  for  the  pueruli  and  plebs.  This  is  after  the 
manner  of  the  ancient  Jewish  “ Allel,”  when  “ at  the  pause,  the 
servants  of  the  Temple  with  the  choir  of  Levites  and  the  assem- 
bled multitudes  broke  forth  into  solemn  Alleluias,”  by  way  of 
approving  acclaim. 

As  a preliminary  note  to  his  version  of  the  whole  in  the  second 
edition  of  Mediceval  Hymns  Dr.  Neale  writes  : “ It  was  first  trans- 
lated by  me  for  the  hymnal  noted, — copied  thence  into  the  Sarum 
Hymnal,  and  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  and  Chope’s  Hymnal, 
and,  miserably  inferior  as  it  is  to  the  original,  seems  thus  to  have 
obtained  great  popularity.  But,  most  unhappily,  those  hymnals 
ignored  the  glorious  melody,  contemporaneous  with  the  sequence.6 
For  the  first  time  since  the  words  were  written,  they  were 
cramped,  tortured,  tamed  down  to  a chant,  the  very  kind  of  music 
for  which  the  original  sense  and  the  English  words  are  least 

6 This  “contemporaneous  melody  ” is  said  to  be  now  “ practically  unknown. ” 
But  it  is  given,  with  the  traditional  adaptation  of  the  Latin  words,  in  Dr.  Neale’s  own 
Sequentiae  ex  Missalibus  Medii  Aevi , London,  1863.  In  a footnote  to  his  text, 
Mone  refers  to  it  as  given  in  the  Stuttgart  Breviary  mit  der  Melodie.  There  is,  I 
know,  a highly  prized  MSS.  at  St.  Gall’s,  apparently  written  in  the  tenth  century, 
and  containing  music  of  pncumes  without  words. 


BLESSED  NO  TKER'S  ALLEL  UIA  TIC  SEQ  UENCE.  45 7 


adapted.7  It  is  said  that  the  original  melody  is  difficult.  I can  only 
reply  that  I have  frequently  heard  it  sung  by  a choir  of  children 
of  ages  varying  from  four  to  fourteen,  and  never  more  prettily 
than  when,  without  accompaniment,  it  was  sung  in  the  open  fields. 

Now,  by  whom  was  this  “ glorious  melody  ” composed, 
assuming  it  to  be  “ contemporaneous  ” with  the  words  of  the 
Sequence  ? One  would  suppose  that,  with  other  pneumes  to 
which  Notkerian  sequences  were  adapted,  it  was  composed  by 
Marcellus,  the  head-master  of  St.  Gall’s  Musical  School  at  the 
time — that  time  being  precisely  the  period  of  its  greatest  European 
repute  as  a school  of  sacred  music  and  song.8  Indeed,  in  the 
course  of  some  remarks  as  preface  to  the  metrical  version  of 
another  of  Blessed  Notker’s  sequences  (there  acknowledged  as 
his),  Dr.  Neale  distinctly  notes  the  part  that,  as  what  he  calls 
“ Precentor  on  the  decani  side,”  Marcellus  took  in  arranging  for 
choir  use  the  first  sequences  which  Notker  had  composed.  He 
omits  to  say  that,  after  having  been  satisfied  with  the  alterations 
made  according  to  his  suggestions  in  the  words  of  the  two  first, 
which  he  was  asked  to  examine,  Marcellus  caused  these  to  be 
transcribed  on  rolls  for  practice  by  his  pupils;  and  so  in  effect 
originated  their  liturgical  use.9  Nor  does  Dr.  Neale  mention  the 
interesting  fact  that  this  man  with  the  Latin  name  of  Marcellus 
was  an  Irishman.10  He  was  originally  called  Moengul.  “After- 
wards,” writes  Blessed  Notker’s  ancient  biographer,  “ he  was 
called  Marcellus  by  our  people  ( nostris ) by  way  of  diminutive 

7 He  refers  to  Troybe’s  Chant,  to  which  his  words  are  set  in  the  Anglican  Hym- 
nal entitled  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern  (see  last  edition,  London,  1904).  The 
setting  there  is  for  men’s  and  boys’  voices  : parts  in  unison  and  parts  in  harmony.  Of 
course,  the  original  (Latin)  words  should  be  sung  to  the  original  melody.  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  for  popular,  church,  school,  or  sacred  concert,  use,  the  arrangement 
of  the  English  version  presented  in  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern  is  excellent  of  its 
kind  and  ought  to  prove  very  easily  learned  and  effective. 

8 St.  Gallen  was  one  of  the  most  famous  seats  of  learning  in  Europe,  from  the 
eighth  to  the  tenth  century.  B.  Notker  died  in  912. 

9 “ Quos  versiculos  cum  Magistro  meo  Marcello  praesentarem,  ille  gaudio  meo 
repletus,  in  rotulas  eas  congessit  et  pueris  cantandos  aliis  alios  insinuavit.”  (From 
B.  Notker’s  Praefatio  in  Librmn  Sequentiarum. ) 

10  “ Receptus  hie  (Notkerus)  admodum  puer  in  monasterium  illud  est  sub 

Grimaldo  Abbate,  post  an.  841,  et  primum  , deinde  ‘ Marcelli  Hiberni  ’ 

disciplinae  commissus.  ” 


458 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


from  the  name  of  his  uncle,  which  was  Marcus.”  Having  accom- 
panied this  Marcus,  an  Irish  bishop,  on  his  journey  to  Rome,  on 
the  way  back  he  called  at  St.  Gall’s,  and  was  induced  to  stay 
there — first,  it  would  appear,  as  teacher  of  the  then  complicated 
art  of  hymnody,11  and,  subsequently,  also  of  other  branches  of 
“ the  liberal  arts,”  as  then  understood.12 

Was  he  a distinguished  layman  at  the  time,  or,  was  he,  like  St. 
Gall  himself,  of  the  class  still  so  familiar  to  far-off  lands  of  Saxon 
speech,  a young  priest  from  Ireland  ? There  are  no  annals  to  tell 
us.  Little  even  is  known  of  the  subsequent  life  of  Marcellus  at 
St.  Gall’s,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  remained  there  a considerable 
time,  became  master  of  the  higher,  “ inner  ” or  claustral,  school 
(that  of  the  convent’s  scholasticate),  and  was  ultimately  succeeded 
in  that  position  by  B.  Notker  himself.13  But  from  various  refer- 
ences we  know  that  he  was  a man  highly  esteemed  for  his  learning 
and  general  culture  as  well  as  for  his  musical  skill.  “ He  was  a 
man,”  wrote  Ekkhard  of  him  in  the  thirteenth  century,  “ most 
learned  in  divine  and  human  erudition.”  14 

11  Sicut  terrae  arenti  serotinum  imbrem,  quo  infundatur  ut  germinet,  mittit ; ita 
mox  quemdam  Episcopum  Scottigenara,  nomine  Marcum,  Dominus  misit  ad  cellam 
Sancti  Galli.  Qui  rediens  a Roma,  repatriare  volens,  Galium  tanquam  compatriotam 
suum  visitat : cui  comitabatur  filius  sororis,  Moengal  nomine : postea  a nostris 
diminutive  a Marco  avunculo  ejus  est  vocatus.  (Ekkhard:  Vita  S.  Notkeri , Cap.  II.) 

12  See  Vita  Sancti  Notkeri , by  Ekkhard,  in  the  Bollandists’  Acta  Sanctorum , 
VI  Aprilis,  p.  577. 

11  “ Huic  (Marcello)  inmagisterio  scliolae  claustralissuccessit.”  Bollandist,  /.  c. 

14  “Hie  (Marcellus)  erat  in  divinis  et  humanis  scripturis  eruditissimus,  cujus 
doctrinis  beati  viri  Notkeri  sitibundum  cor  refocillatum  est.”  As  to  his  teaching, 
we  read  in  the  next  paragraph — “ Praesidente  Marcello,  mentes  discipulorum,  Not- 
keri, Raperti,  Tutilonis,  aliorumque,  septem  liberalium  artium  scientiae  ad  plene 
imbuit.  Musicae  autem  jucundissimae  arti  diligentius  hi  tres  prae  caeteris  animum 
apposuerunt,  sed  prae  omnibus  Notkerus.  ” Ekkhard’s  Vita  S.  Notkeri.  Cap.  II, 
— “ S.  Notkeri  et  sociorum  sub  Marcello  magistro  profectus.” 

From  the  next  paragraph  of  Ekkhard’s  MS.,  we  learn  that  the  principal  subject 
for  the  exercise  of  the  “ jocundissima  ars  ” in  St.  Gall  at  the  time  was  Cantus  Gre - 
gorianus  cujus  “ modulationis  dulcedinem,  inter  alias  Europae  gentes,  Germani  seu 
Galli  sive  Alemanni  discere  crebroque  rediscere  potuerunt  ; incorruptam  vero,  tarn 
levitate  animi  qua  nonnulli  de  proprio  Gregorianis  cantibus  miscuerunt,  quam  feritate 
quoque  naturali,  minime  servavere.  ” In  face  of  all  this  it  is  pleasant  to  note 
“quantum  vir  Domini  Notkerus  cum  sociis  (sub  Marcello  magistro)  in  arte  musica 
profecerit.”  (Par.  12.)  Thus  it  may  be  said  that  the  “Solesmes”  of  a thousand 
years  ago  was  the  Monastery  of  St.  Gall,  when  Blessed  Notker  wrote  there  and  its 
head-master — “ magister  scholae  claustralis” — was  Moengal , alias  Marcellus  Hi- 
bernus. 


BLESSED  NOTKER'S  ALL  EL  UIA  TIC  SEQUENCE.  459 

The  thought  here  suggests  itself : what  must,  at  that  period, 
have  been  the  state  of  learning  and  general  culture  among  a people 
from  whose  country  came  this  youth,  the  casual  travelling  com- 
panion of  “his  uncle  on  a journey  to  Rome”?  There  is  much 
room  here  still  for  research.  The  history  of  Blessed  Notker,  of 
the  school  of  St.  Gall,  and  its  highly  accomplished  young  Irish 
“ master,”  during  this  the  period  of  its  greatest  renown,  furnishes 
ample  material  for  a study  the  result  of  which  would  no  doubt 
throw  considerable  light  on  the  state  of  learning,  literature,  spir- 
itual life,  and  artistic  culture  of  Ireland,  and  that  during  a period 
commonly  spoken  of  as  the  “ Dark  Ages.”  On  the  united 
memory  of  Marcellus  and  Notker,  I confess,  I have  dwelt  with 
special  pleasure,  as  being  throughout  so  suggestive  of  union  in 
thought  and  deed  between  German  and  Irish  Catholics.  They 
labored  together  for  the  furtherance  of  the  great  cause  of  our 
holy  religion. 

In  conclusion.  I would  recall  the  epitaph  which  Notker’s  grate- 
ful fellow-countrymen  inscribed  upon  his  tomb : 

“ Ecce  decus  patriae  Notkerus,  dogma  sophiae, 

Ut  mortalis  homo  conditur  hoc  tumulo. 

Idibus  octonis  hie  carne  solutus  Aprilis, 

Caelis  invehitur,  carmine  suscipitur.”  15 

The  anniversary  of  his  death  occurs  in  April.  One  cannot  at 
this  time  suppress  the  wish  that,  as  after  so  many  years  the  title 
of  “ Beda  Venerabilis  ” was  changed  into  “ Saint  ” Bede,  so  the 
“ Blessed  ” of  Notker’s  name  may  yet  be  changed  into  “ Saint.” 
As  we  have  seen,  he  was  so  long  popularly  called  “Saint,”  and 
is  so  called  in  the  ancient  life  of  him  printed  in  our  Acta  Sanctorum. 
Perchance  the  revival  of  that  “ dulcedo  modulationis  Cantus  Gre- 
gorianiC  for  which  he  and  his  master,  “ Marcellus  Hibernus,”  did 
so  much  in  their  day,  will  prompt  a more  special  interest  in  this 
direction.  Blessed  Notker’s  canonization  would  give  to  all  lovers 
of  the  dear  old  chant  a new  motive  in  the  Paschal  time  for  singing 
“ Alleluia!” 

T.  I.  O’Mahony. 

All  Hallows , Dublin. 

15  Given  as  “ Epitaphium  ad  ejus  tumulum  ” at  thg  end  of  Ekkhard’s  Vita 
S.  Notkeri , as  printed  in  Goldast’s  work  ; and  also  as  printed  in  the  Bollandists’ 
Acta  Sanctorum. 


460 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT. 

Religious  Life  Drawn  from  the  Life  of  Mary. 

Active;  Contemplative;  Mixed. 

IN  the  earthly  life  of  Our  Lady  we  see  the  model  of  all  states,  nat- 
ural and  supernatural,  that  can  be  followed  by  her  children. 
In  the  first  place  we  observe  the  active,  contemplative,  and  mixed 
lives,  which  regard  men  and  women  equally ; and,  in  the  second 
place,  as  regards  womankind,  the  Virgin,  the  Mother,  and  the 
Spouse. 

With  regard  to  these  several  states,  the  singular  perfection  ot 
Our  Lady’s  life  consists  in  that  she  exercised  herself  in  all  the 
virtues  peculiar  to  each,  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Activity  in 
her  case  caused  no  cessation  of  contemplation,  since  her  soul  never 
lost  sight  of  the  habitual  presence  in  herself  of  the  Holy  Trinity  ; 
but  moved  in  it  as  in  a brilliant  atmosphere  of  purest  light,  and 
saw  in  that  light  all  that  the  eternal  Father  required  of  her  to  do  ; 
nor  was  she  ever  drawn  out  of  her  own  centre,  by  any  attraction 
to  the  activities  of  life,  for  their  own  sake. 

At  the  same  time,  contemplation  and  its  inexhaustible  delights 
did  not  cause  her  to  overlook  the  importance  of  perfection  in  the 
performance  of  the  most  trivial  action.  It  was  in  fact  the  moving 
principle  in  all  action,  since  her  greatest  pleasure  was  to  do  the 
Will  of  God.  She  therefore  observed  the  mixed  state  in  union 
with  the  two  other  states,  with  the  same  perfection  as  she  observed 
each  state  in  itself. 

The  same  observation  may  be  made  of  her  womanhood.  As 
Virgin  she  was  Immaculate ; as  Mother  she  was  unparalleled  in 
her  purity;  as  Spouse,  in  comparison  of  all  others,  she  was  the 
lily  among  thorns  (Cant.  2:2);  therefore  in  all  she  has  been  our 
model,  upon  which  model  the  various  states  in,  as  well  as  out  of, 
religion  have  been  founded  and  regulated. 

The  Christian  charities  contained  in  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  and 
the  simple  grandeur  of  that  doctrine  as  He  taught  it  to  the  people, 
were  all  centered  in  Mary  as  His  living  exemplar  ; and  He  intended 
that  her  life  should  be  the  model  of  His  Church’s  life.  Now  a 
very  little  consideration  will  point  out  to  us  that  it  has  been  so ; 


MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT. 


461 


and  that  in  every  departure  of  those  prismatic  rays  of  light  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  our  Blessed  Lady 
has  been  the  celestial  orb  whence  they  have  proceeded,  as  Wisdom 
says  of  her : “ I made  that  in  the  heavens  should  rise  light  that 
never  faileth,  and  as  a cloud  I covered  all  the  earth  ; my  throne 
is  in  the  pillar  of  a cloud  ” (Eccl.  24 : 6,  7). 

We  have  traced  in  a measure,  according  to  our  power,  the 
footprints  of  Our  Lady  as  she  followed  in  those  of  her  Divine 
Son ; teaching  and  developing  the  spirit  of  prayer  on  the  great 
lines  of  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Holy  Eucharist ; and  also  the  Faith 
of  the  Church,  as  symbolized  in  her  Creeds,  and  epitomized  in  the 
Lord’s  Prayer.  We  have  seen  that  prayer  in  the  essence  and  sub- 
stance of  her  appointed  cooperation  in  the  Church’s  system ; and 
that  whatever  she  undertakes,  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  strengthen- 
ing and  enlarging  its  influence,  until  she  has  reached  down  to  the 
very  humblest  and  weakest  of  her  children.  Now  all  this  has  to 
do  with  the  activities  of  prayer,  which,  in  the  institution  of  the 
holy  Rosary,  she  has  marvellously  combined  with  the  spirit  of 
contemplation. 

We  now  turn  to  the  contemplative  side  of  Our  Lady’s  life — 
the  one  most  interior  and  prized  by  her ; and  we  see  what  she  has 
done  to  cultivate  it  in  the  vineyard  which  with  the  Beloved  she 
tends,  in  the  character  of  the  sacred  Spouse.  “ Come,”  saith  she, 
“ come,  my  Beloved,  let  us  go  forth  into  the  field ; let  us  abide  in 
the  villages ; let  us  go  up  early  into  the  vineyard ; let  us  see  if 
the  vineyards  flourish ; if  the  flowers  be  ready  to  bring  forth 
fruits  ” (Cant.  7 : 13). 

Created  charity  as  a divine  influence,  and  the  counterpart  of 
the  uncreated  Love  of  God  as  an  essential  virtue  in  human  nature, 
was  unknown  before  the  coming  of  Christ.  We  may  assume 
from  the  narrative  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  this  was  the 
first  fruits  of  the  Gospel  teaching.  For  instance,  we  are  told  that 
“ all  they  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things  in  com- 
mon ; their  possessions  and  goods  they  sold  and  divided  them  to 
all,  according  as  every  one  had  need”  (Acts  2 : 44,  45);  and,  in 
Acts  4:  32:  “And  the  multitude  of  believers  had  one  heart  and 
soul.”  Deacons  were  created  and  ordained  for  the  purpose  of  the 
charitable  distribution  amongst  the  poor  of  the  alms  of  the  rich 


462 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


(Acts  6:1) ; — again  as  an  example  of  private  and  personal  charity, 
we  have  the  touching  story  of  Tabitha,  or  Dorcas,  as  she  is  called, 
whom  St.  Peter  raised  to  life  at  the  sight  of  the  weeping  poor 
around  her  corpse  (Acts  9 : 36-42).  Also  in  the  Epistles  we 
learn  the  same  lesson,  “ that  he  who  loveth  God,  must  love  his 
brother  also.”  This  indeed  is  the  great  doctrine  of  St.  John,  the 
Beloved  Disciple,  who  is  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and 
of  the  Mother  of  Jesus.  The  corporal  works  of  mercy  were  then 
the  first  stepping-stones  to  the  more  perfect  life,  that  of  contem- 
plative prayer. 

There  were  two  great  stimulants  to  the  life  of  solitary  con- 
templation in  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  Arabia,  and  Syria.  One  was 
the  overwhelming  sense  of  the  moral  degradation  in  which 
heathendom  lay,  and  out  of  which  the  convert  to  Christianity  was 
desirous  to  flee.  The  other  was  persecution.  Both  were  powerful 
agents  in  Our  Lady’s  hands  for  developing  the  most  perfect  forms 
of  contemplation,  and  of  thereby  establishing  and  building  up 
schools  containing  sublime  examples,  which  would  last  to  the 
world’s  end. 

These  schools  of  the  desert  found  their  way  into  Europe  in 
the  form  of  religious  orders.  Each,  as  it  would  seem,  being 
crowned  with  a distinguishing  grace,  every  one  of  which  was 
included  in  that  grace  of  which  Our  Lady  is  declared  to  be  full.1 

In  all  religious  orders,  whether  of  men  or  of  women,  the  first 
distinguishing  mark  is  that  of  purity.  For  this  reason  did  Our 
Lady  draw  the  young  virgins  of  either  sex,  and,  as  we  read  in  the 
Book  of  Canticles,  they  ran  after  the  odor  of  her  ointments,  of 
which  purity  was  the  chief.  She  chose  the  pure  and  the  loving ; 
she  obtained  for  them  the  grace  of  vocation  to  the  virgin  life ; and 

1 The  following  examples  as  they  present  themselves  to  the  writer’s  mind,  may 
explain  what  is  meant.  The  Benedictine  Order,  for  instance,  may  be  said  to  bear 
the  note  of  a great  but  holy  liberty  of  spirit ; the  Carthusian,  that  of  the  spirit  of 
penance ; the  Trappist,  of  mortification  ; the  Cistercian,  of  recollection.  These  are 
among  the  contemplative  Orders.  Of  the  active  Orders  we  note  : — those  of  “ ran- 
soming captives  ’ ’ under  the  title  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy,  which  speak  for  themselves ; 
the  Franciscan,  noted  for  the  grace  of  simplicity ; the  Dominican,  of  zeal  for  souls ; 
and  of  the  Company  of  Jesus  the  distinguishing  mark  may  be  described  as  “un- 
questioning obedience.”  Each  order,  as  a rule,  partakes  of  the  spirit  of  its  founder. 
And  as  Mary  was  the  perfection  of  grace,  so  we  may  trace  to  her  the  distinguishing 
gift  with  which  she  adorned  the  several  families  of  her  devoted  children. 


MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT. 


463 


she  formed  them  into  serried  ranks,  and  fed  them  with  celestial 
food,  teaching  them  how  to  please  and  to  live  alone  for  Jesus. 
She  fought  for  and  with  them  against  their  deadly  enemies ; com- 
forted them;  came  to  them,  and  was  constantly  seen  by  their 
dying  beds,  ready  to  take  them  home  and  conduct  them  to  the 
Feet  of  Jesus ! For  this  purpose  she  had  taught  them  how  to 
pray,  and  to  offer  themselves  as  she  had  done,  so  as  to  fill  the 
soul  of  the  Church  with  her  own  immortal  spirit  of  prayer ; and 
in  this  manner  was  the  Kingdom  in  very  truth  begun  on  earth, 
and  His  Will  was  done  in  the  same  spirit  of  glad  obedience  as  it 
was  done  by  the  angels  in  Heaven. 

It  was  in  this  way,  as  time  went  on,  that  the  whole  world, 
wherever  the  Gospel  was  preached,  was  filled  with  the  incense  of 
Mary’s  prayer — of  her  spirit,  her  love,  her  obedience,  and  her 
matchless  purity.  Hidden  in  the  cloister,  whether  in  deserts  or 
in  caves,  in  forests  or  on  the  hillsides,  in  valleys  or  in  cities,  the 
troops  of  her  children  ran  out  of  the  world  in  order  to  flee  from 
its  snares,  its  follies,  its  inanities,  and  its  unrealities,  to  find  rest, 
peace,  and  spiritual  growth  in  a calm,  pure,  obedient,  and  morti- 
fied life,  full  of  good  works,  and  full  of  prayer ; in  short,  to  find 
God ; to  live  in  God ; to  think  of  God  alone  and  to  praise  Him 
worthily,  as  she  had  done.  And  amongst  them,  as  in  a garden  of 
delights,  Our  Lady  with  her  Divine  Son  loved  to  come,  to  visit, 
to  edify,  and  to  perfect  them ; building  them  up  in  the  simplicity 
of  faith  and  in  the  adoration  of  Jesus.  Thus  her  life  became 
repeated  in  millions  of  lives.  In  them,  her  prayer  continued  un- 
interruptedly : “ Thy  Kingdom  come  ! Thy  Will  be  done  ! ” — 
and  will  so  continue  until  the  consummation  of  all. 

For  this  it  was  that  Mary  took  pains,  so  to  speak,  in  the  foun- 
dation of  her  religious  orders,  whether  of  men  or  of  women ; for, 
after  the  formation  of  the  priesthood  and  the  hierarchy,  and  the 
sacramental  system  of  the  Church,  which  was  our  Lord’s  own 
office — the  bulwarks  and  the  walls  of  the  celestial  city  were  raised 
up  by  the  religious  orders.  When  the  world  was  steeped  in 
ignorance,  and  manners  were  rude  and  rough,  and  wars  were 
apparently  necessary  for  the  purification  and  solidification  of 
society, — and  when  the  Church  herself,  in  order  to  raise  up  saints 
and  martyrs  out  of  lawless  multitudes,  put  a merit  on  religious 


464 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


warfare,  and  raised  up  the  Cross  as  the  Standard  under  which 
they  might  at  least  die  for  the  Faith  which  they  would  have  lived 
to  abuse ! — even  so,  calmly  and  peacefully  uprose  the  walls  of  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem.  All  this  took  place  amid  the  chants  and  the 
psalms,  the  offices  and  the  disciplines,  and  the  holy  monotonies 
of  the  cloistered  life,  among  learned  Fathers,  humble  lay  brethren, 
and  spotless  maidens,  whose  prayer  and  whose  praise  was  the 
very  fire  which  Jesus  Himself  had  yearned  to  kindle. 

But  family  life  was  not  discounted  by  Mary.  This  had  also  a 
work  to  do.  And  so  in  the  Church’s  history  we  meet  with  holy 
men  and  women  in  the  midst  of  the  tumults  of  earthly  prosperity 
bringing  up  their  families  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  and  in  a just 
valuation  of  the  worth  of  life.  We  find  childless  spouses  offering 
all  they  have  to  God  for  a child  whom  they  may  dedicate  to  Him. 
We  find  our  Blessed  Lady  watching  over  kings  and  queens,  draw- 
ing them  by  the  cords  of  love  into  the  arms  of  purity  and  sanctity, 
even  in  the  midst  of  their  courts  and  the  duties  of  their  royal 
state.  On  almost  all  the  work  of  Mary  is  the  mark  of  the  Virgin ; 
for  even  in  married  life  this  mark  takes  a shape  of  its  own.  This 
wonderful  mark  has  the  power  to  sanctify  the  spouse  and  to  bring 
forth  virgins  for  the  sanctuaries  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Shrines  and  Pilgrimages. 

We  have  seen  how,  in  the  power  of  prayer,  Our  Lady  from 
the  beginning,  wrought  with  her  Divine  Son  in  the  foundation  of 
the  Church.  It  is  this  power  which,  wielded  as  she  wields  it,  in 
perfect  union  with  the  Divine  Will  and  Intention,  contains  the 
mystic  force  called  impetration,  which  obtains  all  and  performs  all 
that  it  desires.  We  have  next  considered  how  she  wrought  through 
the  ages  of  persecution,  amid  the  diabolical  contest  with  the 
princedoms  of  heathendom,  through  the  tumultuous  birth-throes 
of  an  unformed  society;  and  we  have  seen  that  none  of  these 
things  was  able  to  hinder  either  the  progress  of  the  Church 
through  her  sacramental  graces,  or  the  action  and  force  of  the 
prayer  which  Mary  taught, — the  first  being  the  mystical  cords  of 
Divine  Love,  and  the  second,  the  mystical  cords  of  supplicating 
desire. 

Mary  is  the  point  of  meeting  between  the  faithful  and  the 


MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT.  465 

eternal  purpose  of  her  Son,  in  the  same  sense  that  she  is  the 
point  of  union  between  God  and  mankind. 

This  will  be  seen  to  explain  all  and  much  more  than  we  know 
of  the  activities  of  Our  Lady  in  the  edification  of  the  Church, 
being,  as  she  is,  the  appointed  soul  of  that  prayer  and  prayerful 
spirit  which  are  absolutely  necessary  to  enable  the  created  soul  of 
man  to  enter  into  communion  with  the  uncreated  spirit  of  the 
Will  of  God.  " Draw  nigh  to  me  and  I shall  draw  nigh  to  you  ” 
is  the  teaching  of  God  Himself.  The  Sacraments  unite  by  means 
of  prayer, — the  prayer  of  desire;  and  thus  prayer  is  the  link 
which  forms  the  end  of  the  mystic  chain  which  draws  the  creature 
toward  the  Creator. 

The  world  is  now  at  peace ; the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
become  the  kingdoms  of  Christ.  The  imperial  city  of  Rome  has 
changed  her  imperial  rulers.  The  Mistress  of  the  world  is  be- 
come the  centre  of  Christian  unity,  the  central  point  of  a universal 
Christian  empire. 

What  is  now  the  work  of  Mary  ? It  is  a very  simple  one. 
Europe  is  Christian,  and  Christianity  belongs,  above  all,  to 
the  people : these  multitudes  have  to  be  elevated,  sanctified ; 
multitudes  in  bodily  and  spiritual  need  of  the  loving  care  of  the 
Mother.  Divine  offices  and  liturgies  do  not  make  a part  of  their 
daily  life.  Holy  Mass  itself  does  not  come  within  the  reach  of 
all.  Grace  has  to  be  humbly  prayed  for,  and  the  masses,  im- 
mersed in  their  painful  laborious  life,  even  if  they  know  how  to 
pray,  do  not  pray  as  they  might.  They  have  to  be  approached 
and  reached  by  means  at  once  sensible  and  spiritual ; natural,  yet 
supernatural.  So  Mary  comes  to  them.  She  is  to  be  found  every- 
where ; her  presence  is  felt,  known,  and  acknowledged ; and  by 
means  of  these  poor  ignorant  multitudes  she  raises  fresh  bulwarks 
— none  stronger  perhaps — of  the  faith  among  the  peasantry  of  the 
vast  provinces  and  kingdoms  of  mid-Europe. 

Many  waters  cannot  quench  charity ; neither  can  the  floods 
drown  it;  and  Mary  is  the  Queen  of  Charity.  What,  indeed, 
amongst  these  teeming  populations  of  various  nationalities — not 
infrequently  hostile  to  one  another — lies  beyond  the  tender  touch 
of  Mary  ? Yet  how  delicately,  how  simply  it  is  offered.  In  some 


466 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


forest,  perchance,  she  causes  her  image — in  many  cases  a miracu- 
lous one — to  be  discovered.  She  bides  her  time.  At  intervals, 
one  by  one,  the  shepherd  or  the  poor  laborer,  or  a forest  hunter 
passes  by  and  venerates  it.  A miracle  ensues.  In  one  case,  a 
serving  man,  the  forest  ranger  of  his  lord,  who  has  never  passed 
her  by  without  acknowledging  the  presence  of  the  Mother  of 
Sorrows,  becomes  the  victim  of  an  accident,  and  blindness  ensues. 
Alone  in  his  poor  cabin,  helpless  and  suffering,  he  thinks  of  that 
little  image,  neglected  and  uncared  for,  and  his  heart  is  touched 
with  a sense  of  loving  confidence.  He  feels  certain  of  her  pity ! 
Now  who  has  lit  up  that  spark  of  unsought  confidence  ? Whence 
comes  the  mystic  touch  of  accredited  sympathy  ? He  does  not 
ask  the  question,  but  engages  a little  child  to  lead  him  to  that 
spot : a lovely  spot  it  is,  where  the  brook  babbles  endlessly  at  the 
feet  of  Mary  ! Thither  he  comes,  and  at  Mary’s  humble  little  shrine 
he  weeps.  His  faith  is  rewarded,  for  he  rises  from  his  knees — 
seeing!  His  first  look  of  gratitude  falls  upon  the  image  of  the 
desolate  Mother  with  the  dead  Christ  in  her  arms. 

Such  is  the  legend  clinging  round  a beautiful  shrine  in  a 
peaceful  valley  on  the  Rhine  which  to  this  day  draws  its  pilgrim 
thousands  from  the  country  about  to  Our  Lady’s  feet ; and  the 
quiet,  richly  decorated  church,  and  its  monastery  of  Franciscan 
Fathers,  attest  to  centuries  of  graces,  spiritual  and  temporal, 
received  there  at  her  motherly  hands. 

This  is  only  one  out  of  hundreds  of  similar  spots,  chosen 
and  hallowed  by  Our  Lady  as  a meeting-place  for  her  children. 
They  are  to  be  found  all  over  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Bavaria, 
Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland,  Italy,  and  Spain,  and  there  was 
indeed  a time,  in  those  ages  of  faith,  as  they  are  rightly  called, 
when  their  presence  marked  now  Protestant  England  as  the 
Dowry  of  Mary.  They  were  then,  as  they  are  now,  the  pledges 
of  the  faith,  and  the  hope,  and  the  charity  which  are  the  uniting 
graces  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Planted  not  infrequently  on  the 
borderland  of  different  and  occasionally  of  antagonistic  races, 
they  draw  men,  women,  and  children  from  all  sides  into  one  bond 
of  peace  and  charity  by  the  hands  of  Blessed  Mary — toward  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  ! The  solitary  desert  blossoms  as  a rose  ! 
Wherever  most  needed,  sanctuaries  arise  mysteriously,  unasked 


MARY  AND  THE  CHURCH  MILITANT. 


4 67 


for,  in  the  midst  of  scattered  populations ; and  wherever  the  sanc- 
tuary becomes  a pilgrimage,  there  rises  the  chapel,  and  later  on 
the  church,  dedicated  to  Mary,  and  the  people  are  drawn  by 
hundreds  and  by  thousands  into  the  Church’s  embrace.  The 
religious  order  and  the  priest  appear;  the  ministrations  of  the 
Church  are  found  in  abundance,  for  the  Church  corresponds  to 
Mary’s  untiring  activities,  and  blesses  these  pilgrimages  from  her 
storehouse  of  indulgences  and  benedictions ; the  Sacraments  of 
reconciliation  and  of  Communion  are  there ; and  miracles  of  heal- 
ing, both  of  soul  and  body,  render  the  sanctuary  famous ; and  all 
this  takes  place,  not  in  cities,  not  in  villages  even,  but  on  the 
mountain  side,  on  the  hill-top,  or  in  the  sequestered  valley  ; draw- 
ing the  people  without  sound  of  words,  sweetly  but  irresistibly, 
out  of  their  surroundings  into  the  peace-loving  solitudes  of  nature 
and  the  mystic  harmonies  of  silence.  Yes,  there  it  is  that  Mary 
speaks  to  her  children,  and  that  the  hearts  of  the  children  reecho  ; 
they  understand,  they  love,  they  run  to  her;  and  return  home 
with  hearts  purified  and  lightened ; blessing  and  praising  God. 

Yet,  in  multiplying  pilgrimages  to  her  shrines — her  Gnaden 
Orte , as  they  are  simply  called  in  Germany — Our  Lady  was  not 
creating  a new  form  of  devotion  in  order  to  supply  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  man ; any  more  than,  when  giving  the  Rosary  with 
its  fifteen  decades  consecrated  to  the  mysteries  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, she  invented  a new  form  of  prayer.  In  both  cases  she  made 
use  of  customs  already  in  employ,  and  applied  them  with  the 
most  far-reaching  results. 

The  thoughtful  soul  will  readily  appreciate  in  the  Great  Pil- 
grimage of  the  Children  of  Israel,  when  they  left  the  land  of 
Egypt  to  seek  the  Land  of  Promise  and  of  benediction,  a fore- 
running sign  of  the  mystic  movements  of  the  emancipated  soul  in 
the  search  after  grace.  The  world  must  be  left  behind  with  its 
unsanctified  cares ; she  must  journey  over  rough  roads  toward 
the  place  appointed.  Regardless  of  the  rigors  of  the  way,  she 
must,  through  the  midst  of  the  wildernesses  of  life,  turn  her  face 
ever  toward  it  until  she  reach  it.  For  to  that  goal,  with  full  faith 
in  it,  she  must  sigh  and  strive  hard  to  come,  for  it  is  only  there 
that  she  will  find  her  sanctuary  of  rest  and  of  prayer,  the  abund- 
ance of  grace  and  the  blessing  of  God. 


468 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


There  is  another  reflection  with  regard  to  pilgrimages,  which 
brings  us  back  to  Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus.  It  is  this  : pilgrim- 
ages had  been  a part  of  her  life  as  an  obedience  to  the  Law  of 
God  ; and  she,  whose  habits  on  earth  partook  of  a kind  of  immor- 
tality, seems  in  her  glory  to  love  to  reproduce  a reminiscence  of 
those  pilgrimages  to  the  Temple,  and  that  feast  of  the  Passover 
to  which  she  had  gone  so  constantly  in  the  sweet  company  of 
Jesus  and  of  her  holy  Spouse.  The  meaning  of  those  pilgrimages 
she  understood,  and  the  value  of  their  centralizing  tendency. 
Jerusalem  was  the  centre  of  grace  for  the  Jews,  and  the  mystic 
Jerusalem,  signified  by  each  of  the  shrines  of  Mary’s  electing, 
became  in  the  same  way  a central  meeting-place  for  the  scattered 
members  of  the  mystic  Body  of  Christ.  Therefore  she  fixes  upon 
a place  of  pilgrimage,  where  her  Temple  of  Jerusalem  is  repeated, 
and  where  she  who  is  the  Queen  of  Heaven  itself,  all  but  visibly 
reigns  as  a very  Queen ; drawing  round  her  personality  the  hom- 
age and  the  faith  of  the  people,  together  with  their  miseries,  their 
aspirations,  their  joys,  and  their  griefs;  their  hopes  and  their 
regrets,  their  vows,  their  penitence,  their  penance  and  their  par- 
dons, the  while  she  showers  on  all  sides  the  wealth  of  God’s  gifts 
and  graces  which  are  given  her  to  distribute. 

Who  may  appreciate  the  wonderful  victories  gained  over  sin 
and  the  armies  of  hell  in  this  way  ? Miracles  of  healing  are  but 
the  figure  and  earnest  of  the  spiritual  strength  which  lies  wrapt  up 
in  the  faith  thus  fostered  by  Mary’s  wisdom.  And  who  is  there 
who  would  wish  to  deny  the  fact  which  supports  indeed  the  rest, 
that  in  all  these  marvellous  works  she  is  but  the  handmaiden  of 
the  Lord, — albeit  she  is  none  the  less  the  Mother  of  Jesus ! 


he  size,  material,  and  adornment  of  these  chests  or  closets  of 


wood  would  depend  upon  the  position  of  the  church  for 
which  they  were  provided.  Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  a new 
sepulchre  was  made  for  St.  Lawrence’s,  Reading,  at  the  consider- 


E.  M.  Shapcote. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


(Concluded.) 

Adornment. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


469 


able  sum  for  those  days,  of  £4  13s.  iod.  In  1549,  a sepulchre 
with  its  frame  for  tapers  annexed,  was  sold  for  xxd.,  a new  one 
being  made  in  1561,  at  an  outlay  of  xxvjs.  viijd.  On  the  other 
hand  a sepulchre  for  the  city  church  of  St.  Andrew  Hubbard, 
East  Cheap,  was  obtained  at  the  low  price  of  viijs.  iiijd.  A parish 
collection  probably  secured  what  was  necessary.  At  Yatton, 
Somerset  (1446-7),  the  accounts  contain  this  entry:  “I  yreseived 
of  the  parasche  to  the  sepulcur  clare  xviijs.  vd.” 

The  ornamentation  of  these  sepulchres  consisted  principally 
of  painting  and  gilding.  William  Astyn  (will  dated  1522),  after 
directing  the  window  over  the  sepulchre  in  Yalding  Church,  Kent, 
to  be  “ dampned  ” and  a blind  arch  made  over  the  same  sepul- 
chre, continues : “ the  wudwarke  of  the  same  sepulture  to  be 
made  according  to  good  wurmanship  and  afterwarde  to  be  gilded 
with  the  Resurrexion  of  our  Lorde.”  51  Twenty  shillings  were 
similarly  bequeathed  by  John  Absolon,  in  1538,  “ to  the  giltyng  of 
the  sepulchre  ” of  Cuxton  Church,  Kent,  which  he  “ wold  be 
payntyd  & giltyd  before  the  feaste  of  Eastre.”52 

Occasionally  entries  appear  of  iron  or  iron  gere  in  relation  to 
the  sepulchre : 

1477-8.  Salisbury:  St.  Edmund’s 

“ yregere  (iron  gere)  to  the  Sepulcure  of  newe  bought 
xiijs.  iiijd.” 

which  may  infer  that  they  were  banded  with  iron  ornamental 
work  in  the  same  way  as  the  cope-chests  which  have  come  down 
to  us.  In  some  instances  the  sepulchres  were  provided  with  locks  : 

Dartford  : Kent.  “ in  clavis  pro  sepulcro.” 

1 5 5 3— 4*  Salisbury:  St.  Edmund’s,  “staplles  and  lockes  for  the 
Sepulcer.  ’ ’ 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  making,  in  1554,  of  the  new 
sepulchre  for  St.  Martin’s-in-the-Fields,  London.  As  the  entry 
differs  somewhat  from  those  usually  appearing  in  the  accounts  I 

51  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury,  25.  Maynwaryng. 

52  Will  Register  (ix,  268),  Consistory  Court  of  Rochester  (now  at  Somerset 
House). 


470 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


quote  it  again:  “a  fframe  for  the  sepulture  and  for  the  Judas 
Cross  and  for  the  Pascall  & cordes,  Platters,  ffrynge  & oth’  neces- 
saries aboute  the  same.”  I say  the  entry  is  curious,  because  it 
would  seem  that  the  Judas  Cross  or  Tenebrse  Herse  and  the 
Paschal  Candle  were  all  of  a piece — en  suite — with  the  sepulchre. 
Similar  entries  in  other  parish  accounts  suggested  this  idea ; for 
example,  in  the  year  1555  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Michael’s, 
Cornhill,  London,  paid  “the  Joyenour  for  makinge  the  sepullere, 
the  Pascall,  and  the  Tenebras  to  the  same!'  And  again  as  late 
as  March,  1566,  there  was  remaining  in  the  old  revestry  of  Lin- 
coln Minster,  “one  alterstone  (black),  a sepulcre,  a (brass)  crosse 
for  candelles  called  Judas  crosse,  and  other  Furniture  belonging 
to  the  same  sepulcre , the  pascall  with  the  Images  in  Fote  belonging 
to  the  same  sepulcre  and  a candlesticke  of  wodde.” 53  There  was 
also  “ one  precious  cloth  to  laye  upon  the  altare,54  and  one  for  the 
sepulcre  wrought  with  Images.”  55 

These  chests  and  their  appurtenances  would  have  to  be  brought 
out  and  furbished  up  ready  for  the  Easter  ceremonial,  and  after- 
wards taken  down  and  carefully  put  away.56  In  the  year  1513, 
the  accounts  of  St.  Lawrence’s,  Reading,  show  a payment  made 
for  “ settyng  upp  the  frame  aboute  the  sepulcre,”  and  in  the  year 
following  occurs  an  entry  of  vd.  for  ale  to  the  carpenters  who 
removed  the  sepulchre.  The  entry  in  the  St.  Margaret’s,  West- 
minster, accounts  (1520)  is  unique: — “For  setting  up  of  God’s 
house  and  taking  it  down  again.”57  1520,  at  St.  Nicholas  Bristol, 
xd.  was  paid  to  the  “ Clerkes  to  sett  uppe  the  sepulcur,”  and  a like 
amount  in  1530.  At  St.  Peter’s,  Sheffield,  it  was  called  the  “ Se- 
pulchre house,”  and  7d.  was  paid  for  “ setting  up  of  the  Resur- 
rection.” At  Eltham,  Kent,  in  1554,  iiijd.  was  paid  for  setting  up 

5:1  From  the  fragment  in  the  Bishops’  Registry  in  Alnwick’s  Tower.  See  Lin- 
coln Inventories , p.  81. 

54  1517.  Reading,  St.  Lawrence,  Inventory:  “Making  the  resurrecyon  play 
ijd ” and  the  ornaments  belonging  to  the  “ Sepulchre  awlter  in  the  same  church.’’ 

65  Toulmin  Smith  : Guilds. 

56  1516.  London  : St.  Mary  Hill,  “ In  part  for  a chest  to  lay  the  sepulchre 

in.” 

57  In  the  Townly  Mysteries , Jacob  in  his  Vision  says  : — 

“ And  now  is  here  none  othere  gate 
But  God’s  Ilowse  and  lievens  yate.” 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


471 


the  sepulchre,  and  the  same  amount  for  taking  it  down  again.58 
At  Ludlow  (1557),  a man  was  employed  for  three  days  in  setting 
up  the  sepulchre  at  a charge  of  xvijd. 

In  connection  with  the  setting  up  of  Sepulchres,  a number  of 
miscellaneous  items  appear  in  the  church  accounts.  Payments 
for  “ small  pynnes,”  “ nailes,”  “ greate  tackes,”  “tacketts,” 59  “ wires 
and  glue,”  “ Cordes  to  the  sepulchre,”  “ whipcord  to  draw  the 
curtain,”  “ pack  thread,”  “ sylke  poynts,”  “ pyne  dotes,”  also 
appear.  The  “ pynnes  ” were  probably  wooden  pegs.  At  Salis- 
bury (St.  Edmund’s)  they  were  purchased  at  penny  a hundred : — 

1510-11.  Salisbury:  St.  Edmund’s  ( churchivardens ’ accounts ) “jd. 

pro  jc.Splintr  ’ pro  sepulcro  domini  hoc  A0  empt  ’ 

1517-18.  “ for  a c.  pynnes  for  the  Sepulture,  jd.” 

In  not  a few  instances  the  entries  in  the  Church  accounts 
relating  to  the  construction  of  sepulchres  refer  to  making,  setting 
up,  or  mending  the  “ frame  of  the  sepulchre,”  or  to  a “ sepulchre 
with  a frame,”  or  to  the  “ frame  about  the  sepulchre.” 

Although  in  some  cases  this  “ frame  ” may  have  reference  to 
the  sepulchre  chest  itself,  it  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  support  or 
stand  upon  which  the  chest  itself  was  raised,  or  within  which  it 
was  enclosed.  The  actual  depository  of  the  Cross  and  Host  and 
Cross  being  a coped  chest  or  coffin.  This  being  set  upon  a bier 
was  surrounded  by  a herse  or  other  frame  for  candles  and  hang- 
ings, in  every  way  identical  with  the  burial  customs  of  the  time.60 
As  has  been  shown,  upon  the  dispersal  of  the  church  furniture  at 
Stallingbrock,  Lincolnshire,  the  Easter  sepulchre  was  actually 
used  as  a “ bear  ” [bier]  “ to  carie  the  dead  corps”  to  burial. 

In  some  cases  the  church  accounts  show  that  the  frame  or 
bier  not  only  sustained  the  sepulchre  chest,  but  was  utilized  as  a 
support  for  lights. 

Neale,  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Views  of  the  Most  Interest- 

58  Lysons:  Environs  of  London , vol.  iv,  p.  415. 

59  Durham  Rolls  (p.  728)  Sacristan’s  expenses  for  1547  “in  tacketts  (tacks  to 
fix  up  drapery)  to  sett  vp  ye  sepulcre,  jd.” 

60  “ Item, , for  the  setting  up  and  framyng  of  my  lorde’s  hers,  as  . 
appereth  by  bill  therof  maid,  iiijj.  ij d.  For  nallis  to  the  same  ij d."  Divers  ex- 
penses made  for  the  burial  of  Thomas  Savage,  Archbishop  of  York,  14th  Septem- 
ber, 23  Henry  VII — Testamenta  Eboracensia , vol.  iv,  p.  321. 


472 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


ing  Churches , dealing  with  Long  Melford  Church,  Suffolk,  and 
quoting  from  a Post-Reformation  MS.  of  Sir  Roger  Martin,  of 
Melford  Place,  describes  such  a timber  sepulchre  and  frame  as  its 
author  remembered  it  before  the  Reform.  “ In  the  quire,”  he 
writes,  “ was  a fair  painted  frame  of  timber  to  be  set  up  about 
Maundy  Thursday,  with  holes  for  a number  of  fair  tapers  to  stand 
in  before  the  sepulchre,  and  to  be  lighted  in  service  time.”  In 
pre- Reformation  times  the  sepulchre  “ finely  garnished  ” had,  it 
appears,  been  set  in  the  usual  place  upon  a tomb — the  richly 
canopied  and  niched61  altar  tomb  of  John  Clopton,  Esquire,  of 
Kentwell  Hall,  who  died  in  1497 — at  the  north  end  of  the  high 
altar,  the  said  frame  with  the  tapers  placed  near  to  the  steps  going 
up  to  the  altar.  “ But  latterly,”  he  continues,  “ it  was  wont  to  be 
set  up  along  Mr.  Clopton’s  aisle  (chapel),  with  a door  made  to 
go  out  of  the  rood-loft  into  it.” 

This  “ latterly,”  would  be  in  the  reign  of  Mary,  when  it  may 
have  been  found  necessary  to  place  the  Blessed  Sacrament  beyond 
the  reach  of  advocates  of  the  “ New  Religion.”  Nevertheless 
there  was  at  St.  Lawrence’s,  Reading,  a “ Sepulchre  Altar,”  in  the 
“ loft  over  the  chancell  crosses,”  where  the  sepulchre  light  also 
stood,  in  1498.62  A loft  for  the  sepulchre  light  was  made  in  1516, 
at  an  outlay  of  ijs.  ijd.  and  was  probably  the  same  “frame  on 
which  the  sepulchre  light  did  stand  ” which  was  taken  down  with 
the  rood  loft  and  sold  to  Master  Butler  in  1562. 

The  erection  of  whatever  may  have  constituted  the  sepulchre 
having  been  accomplished,  the  next  great  business  was  to  “ dress  ” 
it.  In  the  year  1553-4,  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Edmund’s, 
Salisbury,  paid  Robert  Martin  “ viijd.”  for  thus  “ dressing  ” the 
sepulchre,  and  two  years  later  (1556-7),  entered  in  their  accounts 
the  sum  of  “ijd.”  as  disbursed  for  “ drynke  for  them  that  dyd 
dresse  the  sepulker.”  The  wardens  of  Ludlow  in  the  previous 
year  (1555-6),  paid  Thomas  Season  “xijd.”  for  dressing  the 
sepulchre  in  that  church. 

This  dressing  or  garnishing  was  accomplished  by  means  of 
hangings  and  curtains,  tapestries,  painted  clothes  and  banners, 

61  Once  filled  with  statues  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 

62  Kerry  : Account  of  the  Sepulchre  Altar , St.  Lawrence's,  Reading , Anno 
1498. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


473 


which  were  hung  upon  or  around  it : a further  embellishment, 
we  may  well  believe,  being  provided  in  garlands  of  evergreens 
and  Spring  flowers,  so  abundant  at  this  season  of  the  year.  From 
the  inventories  of  church  goods  we  gather  that  these  hangings 
were  often  of  rich  and  costly  materials — cloth  of  gold  and  Baude- 
kyn,  silk,  sarcenet,  chamblett,  and  velvet — tapestries  and  clothes, 
stained  and  needle-painted  with  sacred  story.  A few  examples 
will  suffice : 

Circa  1214-22.  Salisbury  Cathedral.  (Treasurer’s  Inventory.63) 

“Item,  velum  unum  de  serico  supra  sepulchrum.” 

1470.  London  : St.  Margaret  Pattens.  ( Churchwardens'  Accounts.') 

“ Item , a Grete  Cloth  of  Tapestri  werke  for  to  hang  upon  the 
wall  by  hynde  the  Sepulcur.  ’ ’ 

“Item,  a Cloth  of  Sepulcur  werke  w*  the  Resurrection,  the 
Passyon  and  w 4 other  werkis.  ’ ’ 

1472.  Salisbury:  St.  Edmund’s.  {Churchwardeiis'  Accounts). 

‘ ‘ If  ij  palles  of  cloth  of  goolde  for  the  sepulcre  with  a shete 
of  Raynes.  ’ ’ 

1485.  Southwark  : St.  Margaret.  ( Churchwardens'  Accounts.) 

“Item,  alytyll  Cortyn  of  grene  sylke  for  the  hede  of  the  sep- 
ulture.” 

‘ ‘ Item,  iij  steyned  Clothys  with  the  Passyon  and  the  Resurec- 
cyon  to  hang  about  the  sepulture  on  good  fryday.  ’ ’ 

1498.  Reading;  St.  Lawrence.  ( Churchwardens'  Accounts.) 

“Item,  a sepulcre  cloth  of  right  Crymson  satten  imbrowded 
wl  Image  w‘  a frontaill  of  pays  conteyng  in  length  iiij 
yards  wl  ij  cloths  of  lawnde  for  the  sepulcre.  ’ ’ 

“1517.  1 Awlt  ’ cloth  of  crymson  and  tawny  veluet  embroyed 
wt  ffio’s  of  gold,  and  for  the  nether  p’te  of  the  same 
crymson  saten  and  cloth  of  bawdekyn  for  the  sepulcr 
awlter.  ’ ’ 

1512.  Faversham  : 

“ one  sepulchre  cloth  of  red-stained  linen.” 

Under  the  date  1527,  the  church  accounts  of  the  City  of  London 
Church  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill,  have  a payment,  of  “vs.”  for  painting 
and  renewing  the  images  in  the  sepulchre  cloth,  and  among  the 

63  Wordsworth,  Christopher  : Salisbury.  Ceremonies  and  Processions, 
Cambr. , 1901,  p.  173. 


474 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


“Clothes  for  the  Sepulchre,”  at  St.  Peter’s,  Cornhill,  in  1546, 
were  several  stained  clothes  of  varying  richness  of  ornamentation  : 
“ A Crucifix,  Mary  and  John,  with  a scripture  ; a Crucifix,  Mary, 
John  spotted  with  blood  with  the  Holy  Ghost  over  His  head ; two 
angels  and  two  scriptures ; and  another  embroidered  with  divers 
arms.”  There  was  also  a white  cloth  of  the  burying  of  our  Lord 
with  images  of  the  three  Marys.64  Three  red  frontlets  and 
another  of  gold  silk  fringed  and  two  crosse  staves  of  timber  gold 
and  silver,”  seem  to  have  made  up  the  canopy. 

In  the  lesser  churches  the  sepulchre  clothes  were  less  sump- 
tuous : 

6.  Edward  VI.  Kent  : Lewisham. 

“iij  sepulcre  clothes  of  lynnen.” 

“ one  cloth  of  the  same  of  sylke.” 

At  Maidstone  the  King’s  Commissioners  inventoried  “ ix  peces 
of  garnishing  whych  served  to  the  sepulchre  some  be  smale  and 
all  be  narro  ” ; and  at  Wilmington,  a “ sepulcre  cloth  of  whit 
sylke  lyned  with  lynnen  cloth.”65 

In  some  instances  a canopy  was  suspended  over  the  sepulchre, 
palls  thrown  over  the  coffer  itself,  and  banners,  pennons,  and 
streamers  attached  to  the  erection  as  with  the  tombs  of  the  illus- 
trious dead : 

1431.  London:  St.  Peter  Cheap.  {Churchwardens'  Accounts.} 

“Item,  j canapy  steyned  with  iij  staves  and  iiij  boles  of  golde 
and  iiij  faynes  (vanes?)  and  j cloth  for  the  sepulcre 
steynede.”  66 

Wills  of  the  period  give  us  other  instances  : Elizabeth  Hatfield 
of  Hedon,  York,  widow,  bequeathed  (will  dated  May  19,  1509), 
to  her  parish  church  : 

64  At  Westminster,  among  the  Lent  Stuff,  c.  1540  a Sepulchre  cloth  was 
“ steyned  ’ * with  the  Trinity  ; two  at  All  Hallows,  Bristol  (The  Calendars,  Wardens’ 
Book,  1395),  with  “ four  knights  and  Mary  Magdalen  ” ( Bristol , Past  and  Present , 
ii,  106). 

65  A very  usual  “ Sepulchre  ” adornment  was  a bare  cross  of  plain  wood  (not 
crucifix)  with  a winding  sheet  draped  about  it.  The  traveller  will  have  noticed  these 
in  Northern  Italy. 

66  In  the  earliest  account  of  the  sepulchre  yet  met  with  (1214),  mention  is  made 
of  “ velum  unum  de  serico  supra  sepulchrum.” 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


475 


“j  ares  (arras)  bed,  ea  intentione  quod  quolibet  anno  die  obitus  mei 
cooperuerit  super  sepulchrum  meum  et  mariti  mei,  et  ad  ornamentum 
sepulcri  Domini  tempore  Paschali  et  Sacramenti,  dum  valet  et  dura- 
bit.”67 

To  the  same  end  Cecily  Leppington,  of  Beverley,  York,  widow 
(will  dated  December  12,  1526),  gives  to  the  church  of  St.  Mary 
in  Beverley : 

“ her  best  over-see  [Continental — over-the-sea  work]  bed  called  the 
Baptist  as  an  ornament  to  the  sepulcre  of  oure  Saviour  Christe  Jhesu 
at  the  fest  of  Ester.  ’ ’ 68 

In  the  Inventory  taken  of  the  Goods  of  the  Abbey  of  Westminster 
at  the  Dissolution  by  Henry  VIII  of  Religious  houses,  appears: 

“ a greate  cove  of  bedde  called  a sepulchre  cloth  of  nedle  work.”  69 
It  will  be  readily  seen  that  these  handsome  bequests  were  nothing  less 
than  the  canopies  and  hangings  complete  of  the  tester — beds  so  highly 
prized  in  those  days,  and,  judging  from  the  descriptions  given  of  them 
in  the  Wills  of  noblemen  and  the  Inventories  of  their  goods,  they 
were  beautiful  and  often  splendid  examples  of  the  embroiderer’s  craft. 
These  canopies  were  supported  by  beams  of  cordes  : 

1457.  London:  St.  Michael,  Cornhill.  (Churchwardens’ Accounts. ) 

“Item,  payd  to  Rote  for  ij  whipps  (ropes  running  over 
pulleys?)  iiijd.” 

1509  (December  22d)  : Bill  of  John  Copley,  ofBatley,  York. 

“To  on  vyse  makyng  on  Estur  daie  in  the  mornyng  to  the 
sepulcre,  iijs  iiijd.  ’ ’ 70 
1557.  Bristol:  ChristChurch. 

“ For  a small  corde  to  stay  ye  canabye  over  ye  sepulcre.” 

In  the  37th  year  of  Henry  VI,  a “ batyment  ” (battlement)  was 
bought  for  the  now  destroyed  church  of  St.  Ewen,  Bristol,  “ to  hang 
a cloth  on  ye  sepulchre  in  the  chancel,  ixd  ob.” 

67  Testamenta  Eboracensia  (Reg.  Test,  viii,  n-12),  vol.  v,  p.  1. 

68  Ibid.  (Reg.  Test,  ix,  377),  vol.  v,  p.  224. 

69  At  St.  George’s,  Windsor  (1384-5)  “unus  pannus  de  blodio  serico  radiato 
ponderatocum  diversis  avibus  et  floribus  pro  celetura  sepulchri  Domine.”  Dugdale, 
Mon.  Angl .,  vi.  Durham  Rites  tells  us  that  at  the  burial  of  a monk  of  that  house 
his  bed  of  blue  saye  was  held  above  his  grave  and  became  the  perquisite  of  the 
barber. 

70  Testamenta  Eboracensia  [Reg.  Test,  viii,  2 8a  and  230^],  vol.  v.  p.  11. 


476 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


The  banners  and  pennons  mentioned  among  qther  adornments 
were  probably  suspended  from  some  similar  arrangement.  At 
Faversham,  Kent,  in  1512,  thirty-seven  small  banner  cloths  of 
silk  were  provided  for  the  Easter  Sepulchre  and  the  Paschal.  In  the 
year  1543,  “ viijs  ” was  paid  at  St.  Nicholas’,  Bristol,  “to  fyngall 
ffor  hys  hondy  worke  to  ley  the  gold  apo  viij  Smale  streme’ys 
ffor  the  Sepulker,”  a further  vjd  being  expended  “ ffor  viij  sperys 
ffor  the  flags.” 71  The  Church  Accounts  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill,  London 
(5.  Henry  VI),  tell  us  that  “ bokeram  ” was  used  for  the  pennons 
there,  xxijd  being  paid  for  the  material  and  the  making;  the 
“betyng”  (beating  with  gold)  and  “steynynge”  costing  “ vjs.”  72 

In  1536,  Sir  Edward  Nicoll  gave  a sepulchre  cloth,  stained, 
costing  vs  jd  to  lay  upon  the  sepulchre  in  Morebath  Church, 
Somerset.73  This  was  quite  in  accord  with  the  prevalent  practice 
of  covering  the  tombs  of  the  great  and  noble  with  palls  of  price, 
one,  two,  or  more  being  presented  at  the  time  of  the  Requiem 
Mass.74 

A cloth  of  silk,  the  inventory  taken  at  Braborne,  Kent,  in  the 
third  year  of  King  Edward  VI,  tells  us,  “ was  used  to  be  laid  upon 
the  sepulchre.”  As  late  as  1565  there  was  at  Wing,  Bucks,  “a 
pavlle  for  Sepulcher  of  branchyde  worke.”  At  Eltham,  Kent,  the 
Commissioners,  6.  Edward  VI,  found  “ j sepulcre  with  painted 
cloths  to  cover  the  same.”  “ Item  lego,”  says  the  will  of  John  de 
Ledes,  Rector  of  Methley,  York,  “duo  tapeta  rubea  dictae 
ecclesiae  meae,  pro  reparacione  sepulchri  in  die  parascues.” 75 

A11  entry  under  the  date  1485,  in  St.  Margaret’s,  Southwark, 
Church  accounts,  gives  an  instance  of  the  sepulchre  being  en- 
closed with  curtains : 

“ Item , ij  blew  Cortyns  (to)  draw  afore  the  sepulture.” 

71  Atchley  : Some  Principles  and  Services  of  the  Prayer  Book  Historically  Con- 
sidered. 

72  The  “banners  and  pendaunts,”  attached  to  the  herse  of  Thomas  Savage, 
Archbishop  of  York,  who  was  buried  14th  September,  23.  Henry  VII,  were  of  sar- 
cenet, painted.  Test.  Ebor .,  vol.  iv,  p.  321. 

73  Hobhouse  : (Bishop),  Somerset  Churchwardens'1  Accounts.  (Somerset 

Record  Society.) 

74  Down  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation  tombs  remained  so  palled.  Cnut’s 
queen  gave  one  woven  with  peacocks  to  cover  the  tomb  of  Edmund  Ironside  at 
Glastonbury. 

75  Test.  Ebor.  (H.  f.  105^),  i,  p.  106. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE . 


477 


Entries  of  lawn  also  appear  : “ij  cloths  of  lawnde  for  the  Sepulcre.” 
In  the  31st  year  of  King  Henry  VI,  the  Churchwardens  of  St.  Marga- 
ret’s, Southwark,  paid  five  shillings  for  “ lawne  for  the  Sepulchre,” 
and  again  entered  in  1485  an  item,  “ iij  Cortyns  of  launde  to  draw 
afore  the  sepulture  on  the  ester  holy  days.”  76 

Now  and  again  there  is  mention  of  stoles  or  girdles  for  the 
sepulchre.  In  the  accounts  of  St.  Dunstan-in-the-East,  London 
(1550 — 4.  Edward  VI),  we  have  “a  gerdle  of  Sylke  w*  a Lyst  of 
Blew  & Yellow”  ; in  those  of  Wing,  Bucks  (1565),  “a  gyrdeyll 
off  neiddle  worke  for  the  sepulcher  ” ; at  Minster-in-Sheppy,  it  was 
a “ stole  of  red  sendall  for  the  sepulchre.”  In  1 390,  Agnes  de 
Harwood,  of  Blyth,  bequeathed  to  the  Sepulchre  in  the  Church 
of  Blyth  (York),  “ j zonam  cum  argento  harnesatam.”77 

Pieces  of  rich  fabric  to  carry  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  also 
appear,  e.  g.: 

1550.  (4.  Edward  VI.)  London:  St.  Dunstan-in-the-East.  ( Church- 
wardens' Accounts). 

“ Item , a pece  of  Sypres  to  Cary  the  Sacrament  in.” 

and  clothes  of  linen  and  sheets  to  lay  within  the  sepulchre  to 
repose  the  pyx  and  cross  upon  : 

1485.  Leicestershire:  St.  Mary’s.  {Benedictine  Nunnery).  Langley. 

“ one  fine  shete  for  the  sepulcre.” 

1550.  London  ; Bt.  Dunstan-in-the-East. 

“Item,  a shete  to  Laye  in  the  Sepulture.” 

The  stoles,  girdles,  etc.,  we  may  presume,  a feature  originating 
from  the  early  mediaeval  practice  of  draping  altars  with  priestly 
vestments.  Our  modern  antependium  is  a more  or  less  recogniz- 
able vestige  of  this.  Note  the  Antiphon,  “ Circumcingite  Altare 
Domini ; vestite  vestimentis  Sanctis ,”  in  the  Dedication  of  an  Altar 
Office  in  the  Roman  Pontifical. 

The  Inventory  taken  in  the  fourth  year  of  King  Edward  VI 
(1550)  of  the  goods  of  St.  Dunstan-in-the-East  Church,  London, 
gives  what  may  be  taken  as  a fairly  complete  list  of  “ that  that 
belonges  to  the  Sepulture  and  for  good  ffrydaye :” 

76  Clothes  or  canopies  of  lawn  were  used  to  cover  the  Hanging  Pix. 

77  Test.  El) or. , vol.  i,  p.  142  (F.  F.).  ( Surtees  Society.) 


478 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


“ Item , a Sepulture  of  cloth  of  golde.” 

“ Item , a Caneype  of  cloth  of  golde  w*  iiij  stanes  (staves?) 

paynted  Red  belonging  to  the  same.” 

“ Item , a pece  of  whyte  Sylke  w*  iiij  tasseles  & iiij  knappes 
of  golde  threde  Lyke  a Coverpane.” 

“ Item , a pece  of  Sypres  to  Cary  the  Sacrament  in.” 

“Item,  a gerdle  of  Sylke  w1  a Lyst  of  Blew  and  yelow.” 

“ Item , ij  Napkyns  for  the  high  Aulter  wroughte  with  sylke.” 
“Item,  a shete  to  Laye  in  the  Sepulchre.” 

“ Item,  a greate  Cossyn  of  Cloth  of  Golde.” 

“Item,  . . . ail  aulter  cloth  of  the  sepulture  w*  Cur- 

tyns  w*  Aungelles.  ’ ’ 78 

One  of  the  curiosities  of  the  wills  and  testamentary  dispositions  of 
mediaeval  folk  is  the  frequent  bequest  of  rich  articles  of  dress  for 
church  use.  Not  a few  of  these  came  to  the  church  as  “ mortu- 
aries ” at  the  burial  of  their  owners.  The  Easter  sepulchre  came 
in  for  its  share.  Lady  Bardolph,  wife  of  the  Chamberlain  to 
Henry  VI,  thus  left  to  Dennington  Church,  Suffolk,  “ a purple 
gown  with  small  sleeves  to  adorn  the  easter  Sepulchre  there.”  79 

The  Sepulchre  Light. 

As  lights  were  lit  and  set  about  the  biers  and  tombs  of  the 
dead,  so  the  Easter  sepulchre  was  similarly  illuminated  by  a light 
commonly  called  the  Sepulchre  Light — “ Lumen  Sancti  Sepul- 
cri 80  the  light  about  the  Sepulchre — “ Lumen  circa  (or  coram) 
Sepulchrum  Domini 81  or  the  light  of  the  Sepulchre  of  the  Res- 
urrection of  the  Lord — “ Lumini  Sepulturae  resurrectionis  Do- 
minice.”  82 

Although  the  rubrics  of  the  Sarum,83  Wells,  Hereford,  Ar- 

78  Public  Record  Office.  Church  Goods  Exch.,  Q.  R.  4-98. 

79  The  Empress  Agnes  (1062),  thus  distributed  her  Imperial  toilettes  among  the 
Roman  churches. 

80  Will  of  Roger  Lorkyn  (1441),  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  of  Roch.  (i,  5). 

81  Will  of  John  Wilet  (1450),  West  Wickham,  Kent.  Ibid. 

82  Will  of  Thomas  Wilborne  (1532),  Shoreham,  Kent.  Ibid.  (18  Flower.) 

83  **  On  Good  Friday  after  the  Lord’s  Body  is  laid  in  the  sepulchre,  two  wax 
candles,  of  at  least  half  a pound,  shall  burn  all  day  before  the  sepulchre.  On  the 
following  night,  and  thenceforth  up  to  the  procession  which  takes  place  before  Matins 
on  Easter  Day,  only  one  of  them.”  Consuetudinary  of  St.  Osmond,  chap,  v,  L. 
18,  19. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


479 


buthnot,  and  other  ritual  books  prescribe  the  minimum  of  a single 
taper;  only  the  poorest  churches  have  limited  themselves  to  such 
a number,  the  term  “ light  ” in  its  general  acceptance  being  inter- 
preted to  mean  not  a single  light  but  the  light  collectively  obtained 
from  one  or  more  lights,  as  the  “ Church  Light,”  84  “ the  Rood 
Light,”  the  “ Beam  Light,”  etc. 

At  Sarum  the  wax  taper  was  to  burn  before  the  sepulchre ; at 
Hereford  it  was  to  be  place  within  the  sepulchre  with  the  cross 
and  the  door  closed ; and  similarly  at  Wells  “ with  the  Body  of 
the  Lord.”  The  parish  accounts  at  Ludlow  under  the  date  1557, 
furnish  like  evidence : “ Item , to  hym  for  makynge  the  toppe  of 
one  of  them  (sepulchre  tapers)  anewe  after  it  was  burnt  out  in  the 
sepulchre,  jd.”85  A quarter  of  a pound  of  wax  was  used  to  close 
the  stock. 

Seeing  that  the  light  burned  at  the  sepulchre  from  the  Mass 
of  Good  Friday86  until  the  “Resurrection”  on  the  morning  of 
Easter  Day,  the  majority  of  the  lights  would  be  extinguished  in 
the  night-time  and  a single  taper,  or  perhaps  two,  left  to  keep 
vigil.  In  fact  the  famous  Custom  Book  of  St.  Osmund  directs 
that  on  Good  Friday,  after  the  Lord’s  Body  had  been  laid  in  the 
sepulchre,  two  wax  tapers  of  at  least  half  a pound  weight  were  to 
burn  all  day  before  the  sepulchre,  but  on  the  following  night  and 
thenceforth  up  to  the  procession  which  took  place  before  Matins 
on  Easter  Day,  only  one  of  them.  The  Constitutions  of  the 
Bridgittine  nuns  of  Syon  likewise  ordain  two  tapers  only  to  burn 
“in  a more  syker  (secure)  place  for  eschewing  of  perelle.”87  In 
regard  to  the  statement  that  the  Sepulchre  Light  was  maintained 
from  Good  Friday  until  Easter  morning  it  should  be  noted  that 
the  tempns  Paschale  was  a definite  liturgical  term  denoting  the 
period  from  the  Mass  on  Easter  Eve  to  the  First  Evensong  of 

84  William  Crowland,  in  1521,  left  to  Wickham  Church,  Kent,  ten  ewe  sheep  to 
maintain  the  light  at  Easter.  Pre.  Ct.  of  Cant. , 1 1 Maynwaryng. 

85  In  the  church  of  St.  Sebald,  Niiremburg,  a monument,  apparently  an  Easter 
sepulchre,  has  in  the  upper  part  a handsome  metal  door,  a curious  grille  covering  a 
small  hole,  evidently  to  give  a view  of  the  wax  candle  when  burning  within  the 
recess. 

86  .So  the  will  of  Johan  Osborne  (1523)  “ A pound  of  wax  to  repare  the  sepul- 
curre  lyght.”  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (vii,  338.) 

87  Aungiers  : History  oj  Syon , p.  350. 


480 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


Trinity  Sunday.  This  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  the  wills 
of  the  period. 

William  de  Makenade,  whose  will  was  proved  May  18,  1407, 
after  directing  his  body  to  be  interred  without  wrapping  or  cover- 
ing of  any  kind,  in  the  churchyard  of  Preston-next-Faversham, 
Kent,  bequeaths  to  the  churchwardens  of  the  said  church  ten 
cows,  the  money  to  be  derived  from  farming  them  to  provide  a 
taper  which  should  annually  be  kept  burning  at  the  Easter  sepul- 
chre in  the  Church,  “from  Good  Friday  morning  to  the  hour  of 
the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord.”  The  will  of  Alice  Bray  (dated 
1509),  bequeaths  a 4-lb.  wax  taper  “to  bren  before  the  sepulture 
of  ouer  Lorde,”  in  Chelsfield  Church,  Kent,  “ at  the  time  of  Easter 
that  is  to  saye  from  goode  fridaye  to  thursdaye  in  the  Ester  weke 
to  be  brennyng  at  tymes  conuenyant  according  as  other  ligthes 
be  wonte  and  used  to  be  kept  there  about  the  sepulture.” 88  In  the 
following  year  (1510)  Richard  Wigenden  leaves  to  Cowden 
Church  in  the  same  county,  “ a taper  of  v li.wex  to  bren  before 
the  sepultre  vppon  Goode  Fridaye  and  in  the  tyme  of  Easter.”  89 

Thomas  Mering,  of  Newark,  Yorkshire,  Esquire,  by  his  will 
dated  August  13,  1500,  bequeaths  unto  young  Robert  Kelytt 
and  his  wife,  the  house  he  was  dwelling  in,  for  the  term  of  ten 
years,  “ so  yfc  he  find  yerly  at  my  sepulcur 90  at  ye  tyme  of  Estur 
v serges,  and  every  serge  vj11',  for  the  date  of  xij  dayes.”91  Forty 
years  later  his  nephew,  John  Mering,  of  Mering,  Yorkshire,  Es- 
quire, by  will  dated  June  16,  1541,  provides  that  “at  Ester  the 
said  Thomas  Meringes  landes  shall  fynde  fyve  tapours  for  the 
sepulture,  every  tapour  to  be  of  vj  li.  a pece,  and  to  burn  the  spacie 
of  xijth  days.” 92  The  Church  accounts  of  St.  Ewen,  Bristol  (15 14), 
have  the  entry:  “Item,  for  markynge  off  the  sepulcare  lyght, 
viijd.” 93 

The  evidence  afforded  by  the  churchwardens’  accounts  and 

88  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (vi,  268}. 

89  Ibid,  (vi,  312). 

90  He  was  the  builder  or  founder  of  the  chapel  known  as  the  “ Mering 
Chapel,”  which  still  exists  in  Newark  Church  on  the  north  side  of  the  altar.  The 
Easter  Sepulchre  seems  to  have  been  there  and  probably  on  his  own  tomb. 

91  Test.  Ebor.  (Reg.  Test,  iii,  yi'ja),  vol.  ii,  p.  179. 

92  Ibid.  (Reg.  Test,  xi,  693;/),  vol.  vi,  p.  135.  ( Surtees  Society.) 

93  Trans.,  Brist.  and  Glouc.  Arch.  Soc .,  vol.  xv. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


481 

the  testamentary  dispositions  of  the  faithful  of  the  period  in  which 
the  ritual  observance  of  the  Easter  sepulchre  was  most  in  favor, 
clearly  shows  that  no  restriction  was  laid  upon  the  devotion  of 
the  people  as  to  the  sepulchre  adornment  in  this  particular.  In 
some  parishes  the  sepulchre  was  in  the  care  of  a guild,  fraternity, 
or  brotherhood  whose  business  it  was  at  this  period  of  the  year 
to  perambulate  the  parish  and  to  collect  from  the  parishioners 
offerings  toward  the  maintenance  of  the  church  light  in  general 
and  the  Paschal,  Sepulchre,  Tenebrae,  Font,  and  other  lights  in 
particular. 

Sepulchre  Guilds. 

From  Northamptonshire  wills,  temp.  Henry  VIII,  we  learn 
that  there  were  sepulchre  guilds  at,  among  other  places,  Fine- 
don,  Kettering,  Mears,  Ashby,  Wellingborough,  and  Wollaston. 
At  Raunds  it  went  by  the  name  of  the  Guild  of  the  Resurrection. 
In  1463,  John  Baret,  citizen  of  Bury  St.  Edmund’s,  bequeathed 
£ 8 to  the  Resurrection  Guild  and  directed  an  annual  payment 
of  8d.  to  provide  eight  tapers  “ stondyng  at  the  grave  of  the  resur- 
reccon  gylde.”  The  will  of  William  Blyton,  of  Kirton  in  Lind- 
sey, Lincolnshire,  executed  in  1498,  supplies  the  names  of  the 
five  guilds  at  that  place  and  among  them  appears  the  “ Guild  of 
the  Sepulchre  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.”  The  Guild  of  the  Res- 
urrection of  our  Lord  at  Lincoln,  founded  Easter,  1374,  kept  the 
hearse  for  the  departed  and  the  lights  for  the  Easter  sepulchre. 
In  Taunton  wills,  testators  make  special  bequests  to  “ fraternitates 
summe  crucis  et  sancti  sepulcri.”  The  members  of  these  societies 
would  have,  among  other  things,  the  charge  of  the  sepulchre, 
lights,  watchings,  and  other  ceremonies  connected  therewith. 

The  old  church  accounts  furnish  many  interesting  particulars 
in  regard  to  these  collections.  For  instance,  in  the  twenty-first 
and  twenty-second  years  of  King  Henry  VI,  the  Brethren  of  the 
Ploly  Trinity  in  connection  with  the  Church  of  St.  Botolph  with- 
out Aldersgate,  paid  (in)  for  wax  and  lighting  the  Sepulchre  “ both 
years,”  xxs.  viiid.,  and  gathered  in  the  same  period  for  the  sepulchre 
light  xivs.  ixd.  In  the  year  1546  was  received  from  the  parish- 
ioners of  St.  Martin’s-in-the-Fields,  London,  “ for  the  Pascal  and 
tokyn  monye  ” at  Easter  the  large  sum  of  xxxvs.  vd.,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  this  xs.  iiijd.  ob.  was  gathered  for  the  sepulchre  light.  In 


482 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


the  last  year  but  one  (1554?)  of  Queen  Mary’s  reign,  two  “ gath- 
erers ” were  appointed  at  St.  Martin’s,  Leicester,  for  the  sepulchre 
light  and  two  for  the  rood  light.  At  Thame,  Oxon.,  and  Wing, 
Bucks,  the  collectors  were  called  the  “ light  men  of  the  sepulchre  ” 
and  “ light  men  to  the  blessed  Sepulker.” 

At  Wagtoft,  Lincolnshire,  there  was  an  “Alderman  of  the 
Sepulchre  Light,”  whose  duty  it  was,  doubtless,  to  superintend 
the  whole  proceedings.  In  some  parishes,  as  that  of  Heybridge, 
(in  the  twenty-first  year  of  Hemy  VIII)  the  maidens  and  bachelors 
and  other  sections  of  the  parishioners  provided  the  tapers  for  the 
illumination  of  the  sepulchre.  In  other  places,  as  at  Stowmarket, 
the  “ Common  Light,”  stood  before  the  sepulchre,  and  another 
known  as  the  “ Bachelors’  Light,”  was  maintained  at  the  cost  of 
the  single  men  of  the  parish.  To  the  “ bachilars  light  before  the 
sepulchre,”  in  the  church  of  Allhallows,  Hoo,  Kent,  Raffe  Graves, 
in  1514,  bequeathed  “ two  mother  sheep.” 94 

The  accounts  relating  to  the  Church  of  St.  Peter,  Cheap,  Lon- 
don, under  the  date  1447,  show  that  at  least  in  some  places,  the 
“gatherers”  had  some  recompense  for  their  trouble: — “Item, 
pade  for  a gal’on  of  wyne  which  was  yevyn  to  sypnam  & to  bogye 
for  gederyng  of  money  on  good  frydaye,  viijd.”  From  this  it 
would  seem  that  the  collection,  at  least  in  the  London  city 
churches,  was  made  on  Good  Friday,  as  the  St.  Andrew  Hubbard 
accounts,  for  1 521-2,  have  a similar  entry: — “ Receyved  on  good 
fry  day  toward  the  sepulcre,  iiijs.”  This,  however,  may  have  been 
the  offerings — Creeping  Silver — made  at  the  adoration  of 
creeping  to  the  Cross. 

It  appears  that  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  was  itself 
under  the  care  of  a guild  or  fraternity  which  derived  its  name 
from  assisting  at  the  ceremonies  observed  there  at  Easter  time. 
There  were  Brotherhoods  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  composed  of 
pilgrims  who  had  made  or  were  making  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy 
Land,  such  as  that,  for  example,  which  built  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  at  Cambridge,  between  the  years  1114-1130,  in 
imitation  of  that  which  covered  the  traditional  site  of  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem.  This  being  said,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  some  of  those  sepulchre  guilds  were  associations 

94  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (vii,  18). 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE . 


483 


connected  with  pilgrims  or  with  the  Holy  Sepulchre  itself  and 
not,  to  any  great  extent,  with  the  Easter  sepulchre  in  their  parish 
church. 

Bequest  for  the  Sepulchre  Lights. 

Devout  parishioners  making  their  testamentary  dispositions 
frequently  include  a bequest  in  money  or  kind  to  maintain  the 
lights  of  the  sepulchre.  These  bequests  vary  from  the  single 
candle  or  scanty  pence  of  the  poor  to  the  ample  gifts  or  donations 
in  money  of  the  wealthy. 

In  1441,  James  Fulk  leaves  to  “ Lum.  Sci.  Sepulcri  ” in 
Higham  Church,  Kent,  ijd.95  The  same  amount  was  received,  in 
1523,  of  two  sailors,  “ Cornysse  men  for  the  syzthe  [sight,  lyzthe 
— light]  of  the  sepulcur  ” in  Stoke  Courcy  Church,  Devon. 
William  Cutbull,  of  Pitminster,  Somerset  (will  dated  July  29,  1534), 
bequeaths  to  the  sepulchre  light  there,  4d.  John  Sterkyn,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  gave  3s.  4d.  “to  the  light  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre” 
in  Haslingfield  Church,  Cambridge ; and  so  on  in  numerous 
instances.  Occasionally  very  liberal  gifts  were  made,  as,  for 
example,  that  of  Thomas,  Lord  Dacre,  who,  in  1531,  made  a 
bequest  of  £100,  “to  be  employed  toward  the  lights  about  the 
said  sepulchre,  in  wax  tapers  of  10  pounds  weight  each,  to  burn 
about  it.” 

Not  infrequently  the  gift  was  made  in  kind,  i.  e.y  in  wax  or 
animals — cows,  sheep,  bees,  etc. — that  they  might  by  their  sale  or 
produce  maintain,  for  a certain  period,  or  “ for  ever,”  as  the  phrase 
went,  the  “ Light  about  the  Sepulchre.”  “ I Will,”  says  Thomas 
Love,  in  his  will  dated  1502,  “that  Halstow  Church  (Kent)  shall 
haue  a cow  to  maynten  a taper  to  bren  a fore  the  Sepulcr  for 
euermore.”96  Alice  Langley,  in  1526,  left  to  “the  sepulcre  light 
of  Frendesbury  Church  (Kent)  a cow  for  a taper  of  iiij.  li.wex 
before  the  sepulcre  the  ester  tyme.”  97  To  Tilmanstone  Church, 
Kent,  Richard  Knott  (will  dated  April  10,  1480,  and  proved 
June  12,  1498)  makes  a bequest  of  three  ewes  and  three  pounds 
of  wax  “ to  th’  entent  that  the  iij  li.wex  may  be  maynteyned  and 
light  yerely  over  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord  at  Estertyme.”  98 
To  the  sepulchre  light  in  Hoo  Saint  Mary’s  Church,  Kent,  John 

95  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (i,  4).  96  Reg  Con>  Ct  of  Roch.  (vi>  6zy 

97  Ibid,  (viii,  75).  98  338).  Archidiaconal  Registry,  Canterbury. 


484 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


Hall,  in  1525,  left  a “ mother  shepe.”  99  A parishioner  of  Naseby, 
Northamptonshire,  in  1529,  left  all  his  hives  of  bees  to  maintain 
the  Rood  and  Sepulchre  Lights.100  “ I witt,”  says  the  will  (dated 
May  20,  1500)  of  William  Wright,  late  of  Bishopthorpe,  York, 
“ to  my  parish  kirke  on  old  stok  of  bees  w*  a swarm,  to  ye  up- 
holdyng  of  a serge  of  v pond  before  ye  sepulcre.”  101 

In  some  instances  lands — light  or  lamp  lands  were  bequeathed, 
the  rents  accruing  therefrom  going  to  the  support  of  these  lights. 

The  Corporation  of  Bridport  has  in  its  possession  a document 
dated  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  King  Richard  II,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  a certain  Robert  Clement  delivers  25s.,  which  he  had,  to  find 
wax  candles  before  our  Lord’s  Sepulture.102  “ I will,”  says  William 
Swetesyre  (1527),  “ that  Peter  Strodyll,  of  North  Craye,  Kent, 
shall  kepe  yerely  two  tapers  of  fyue  pounds  wax  burnyng  before 
the  sepulcre  wtin  the  said  church  for  euermore  for  which  he  hath 
a certain  parcell  of  lond  of  me  called  Williams  londe  in  the  parishe 
of  Northcray.”  103  William  Whythed  (1468)  directed  that  “ Will 
Whythed  the  yenger  ” should  find  “ a taper  brennyng  by  fore  the 
sepulker  (in  Chelsfield  Church,  Kent)  at  Ester  of  iij  li.wex  duryng 
hys  lyue.”  104  John  Morley,  in  1533,  directs  ^ls  “ feoffy  Robert 
Derby  to  cause  a taper  of  iiij  li.  wax  standing  in  the  Church  of 
Dertford  (Dartford,  Kent),  before  the  sepulcr  at  Easter  everi 
yere.”  105  William  Lownde  (1530)  desired  his  executors  among 
other  lights  to  maintain  the  sepulchre  taper  one  year  in  the  same 
church.106 

Ecclesiastical  regulation  ordained  that  the  tapers  should  be  of 
wax,  and  by  the  strict  letter  of  the  rubric  a single  taper  only  seems 
to  have  been  required.  Judging  from  the  church  accounts  and 
the  testamentary  dispositions  of  the  faithful,  no  uniformity  of 
practice  was  observed  either  in  regard  to  the  number  or  the  size 
of  the  tapers  so  employed. 

Bernard  Creke  (will  dated  July  16,  1513)  desires  his  executor 

99  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (vii,  370). 

100  Probate  Office,  Demgate,  Northampton.  See  Arch . Journal , lviii,  No.  230, 
pp.  1 13-132. 

101  Test.  Ebor.  (Reg.  Test,  iii,  322^),  vol.  ii,  p.  174. 

102  6th,  Report.  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  pt.  i.  p.  476. 

109  Pre.  Ct.  Cant.  23,  Porch.  104  Reg.  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (iii,  18). 

105  Ibid,  (ix,  no).  106  Pre.  Ct.  Cant.,  26  Jankyn. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


485 


to  provide  yearly  a taper  before  the  sepulchre  in  Edenbridge 
Church,  Kent.107  To  St.  Mary’s  Church,  Devizes,  William  Smyth, 
in  1436,  left  a legacy  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  three 
sepulchre  tapers.108  In  1463,  John  Baret,  of  Bury  Saint  Edmunds, 
directed  8d.  to  be  paid  yearly  for  eight  tapers  to  stand  at  the 
grave  of  the  Resurrection  Guild.  By  a transaction  dated  March  1, 
1430,  Abbot  John  Wheathampstead  ordained  twelve  wax  lights 
to  stand  on  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord  on  the  day  of  His  Passion, 
and  there  to  remain  burning.  This  was  in  the  great  Abbey  Church 
of  St.  Alban.  Nevertheless,  some  of  the  great  parish  churches 
could  do  as  much.  This  we  see  from  the  Register  Book  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  St.  Botolph’s  without  Alders- 
gate : “ Item,  for  xiii  tapers  unto  the  lyght  about  the  Sepulcre, 
agenst  the  ffeste  of  Estern,  weying  lxxviii  lb.  of  the  wich  was 
wasted  xxii  lb.” 

These  numbers,  twelve  and  thirteen , were  doubtless  intended 
to  symbolize  our  Lord  and  His  twelve  Apostles,  the  odd  one 
being  the  chief  or  “ Master  ” candle,  as  representative  of  the 
Redeemer.  Thus  it  generally  exceeded  the  others  in  size. 

A separate  taper  of  great  stature  and  girth,  in  addition  to  the 
other  lights  burning  over  the  grave,  was  used  at  the  funerals  of 
persons  of  consequence.109  In  1483-4,  the  churchwardens  of 
St.  Edmund’s,  Sarum,  made  a payment  of  iiijd.  to  J.  Bullock 
“ kerver  for  mendyng,  of  a great  Candelstick  of  tree  broken  made 
and  ordeyned  to  stonde  a bowte  the  sepultur’  of  dedd  peple 
w4  ynne  the  ch 

Christopher  Stapleton,  of  Wighill,  Yorkshire,  Esquire,  by  will 
dated  July  30,  in  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII,  after  ordaining  that  six  torches  at  three  shillings  and  four 

107  Con.  Ct.  Roch.  (vii,  ii). 

108  Wiltshire  Archaeological  Magazine,  vol.  ii,  p.  252. 

109  E.  g.  at  the  funeral  of  Sir  John  Paston,  at  Bromholme,  in  1466.  Paston 

Letters , ed.  J.  Gairdner,  1874,  vol.  ii,  p.  268.  John  of  Croxton,  of  York,  Chand- 
ler, left  a torch  nine  feet  long,  to  each  of  the  four  Orders  of  Friars  in  York.  Test. 
Ebor.  (B.  f.  m),  vol.  i,  p.  184.  (1 Surtees  Soc .)  Thomas  Stow,  grandfather  of  the 

Chronicler,  bequeaths  vs.  to  have  on  every  altar  of  St.  Michael  in  Comhill,  a watch- 
ing candle  of  eight  in  the  pound,  to  bum  from  six  of  the  clock  till  it  be  past  seven, 
from  All  Hallowen-day  till  Candlemas  Day  following,  in  worship  of  the  Seven 
Sacraments. 


486 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


pence  apiece  should  burn  about  his  body  on  its  burial  day  and 
afterwards  to  remain  in  the  parish  church  of  Wighill  as  long  as 
they  should  endure,  adds : “ I wyll  that  xiij  serges  [French 
cierges — wax  candles],  xij  of  theme  a li  a pece,  in  the  worshipe  of 
the  xij  Apostles,  the  xiij  of  iij  li.,  in  the  worshipe  of  the  Fader, 
the  Sone,  and  the  Holie  Goste,  to  burne  aboute  my  body  the  day 
of  my  buriall,  and  then  they  to  be  burned  afore  the  Sacramente 
as  longe  as  they  will  endure.”  110  Lancelot  Stapilton,  of  Wath, 
Yorkshire  (will  dated  February  i,  1538),  inter  alia , charges  his 
executors  with  a similar  bequest  with  this  difference,  viz.,  that  the 
“ xiijth.  serdge  ” of  three  pounds  was  only  to  be  burned  “ afor 
the  sacrament,”  the  other  “ ij  serdges  ” to  be  burned  in  like  man- 
ner “ afor  the  sacrament  and  the  sepulcre,  every  ij  serdges  at 
ons  so  long  as  they  last,  and  that  if  the  proctor  or  the  prest  clame 
any  of  them,  then  I will  that  youe  bere  none,  but  light  them  at 
youre  pleasure  where  you  list.”  111 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  even  the  proportionate  size  or  ap- 
proximate weight  of  these  tapers,  as  in  the  church  accounts  they 
are  invariably  reckoned  up  with  the  other  church  wax,  i e.f  the 
making  of  the  Paschal,  the  Font  taper,  the  Cross,  and  Tenebrae 
candles.  As  there  was  in  general  a collection  for  providing  these 
lights,  their  number  and  size  would  correspond  with  the  amount 
received.  As  has  been  shown,  the  maidens  and  bachelors  of 
Heybridge  provided  eighteen  tapers — nine  apiece — each  contain- 
ing five  pounds  of  wax.  This  very  common  number  of  five  was 
doubtless  associated  with  the  old  English  devotion  to  the  Five 
Wounds  of  our  Lord.  Barnard  Creke  (1513)  leaves  a taper  of 
five  pounds  of  wax  to  burn  before  the  sepulchre  in  Edenbridge 
Church,  Kent.112 

110  Testamenta  Eboracensia  (Reg.  Test,  xi,  269),  vol.  vi,  p.  67.  ( Surtees 

Society.  ) 

111  Ibid,  (xi,  350)  vol.  vi,  p.  84.  Edmund  Clifton,  of  Wilford,  York,  Gent., 
expresses  a similar  wish  in  his  will  dated  1st  March,  1546-7,  “ I will  that  vj  torches 
be  bought  and  stand  burnynge  abowte  me  the  day  of  my  buriall,  and  then  to  be 
burned  afore  the  sacrament.”  Ibid,  (xiii,  305),  vol.  vi,  p.  253. 

112  Will  Register,  vii,  2 Consistory  Court  of  Rochester,  now  at  Somerset  House. 
Alice,  late  wife  of  John  Fischer,  of  East  Greenwich  (1496),  wills  the  parish  priest  to 
say  “ v masses  of  the  v woonds  v days  together  afore  the  high  altar,  v small  candles 
to  burn  at  every  mass.”  C.  C.  R.  (v.  365). 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE . 


487 


At  the  London  City  Church  of  St.  Andrew  Hubbard,  there 
were  in  1510  three  sepulchre  tapers  of  eighteen  pounds,  twenty- 
three  shillings  being  received  toward  them  ; in  1535-7  the  sum  of 
seven  shillings  and  eight  pence  was  collected  and  eight  shillings 
expended.  In  1555,  St.  Leonard’s,  Foster  Lane,  London,  had 
sixteen  tapers,  weighing  twenty-four  pounds,  and  costing  six 
shillings  and  eight  pence.  St.  Michael’s,  Cornhill,  had  ten  of 
two  pounds  of  wax  each.  Twenty-two  pence  was  received  for 
two  tapers,  in  1552,  at  Thame,  Oxon.  Three  years  later  at  Lud- 
low, a parish  of  some  consequence,  six  pence  covered  the  cost  of 
the  taper ; the  following  year  two  tapers  were  bought  for  a shil- 
ling, and  the  next,  two  “ little  tapers  ” at  the  modest  sum  of  two 
pence.  On  the  other  hand  the  sepulchre  light  of  St.  Martin’s, 
Leicester,  which  weighed  three  score  and  fifteen  pounds  was  sold 
in  (March  20th)  1547  (1  Edward  VI)  to  Richard  Raynford,  at 
three  pence  halfpenny  per  pound,  21s.  io^d. 

These  lights  are  mentioned  as  being  set  above  or  over,  before 
or  about,  the  sepulchre.113  This  seems  to  have  been  done  by 
means  of  a beam  or  loft  or  frame  of  timber,  hanging  candle-lamps 
or  cressets,  and  candles  fixed  on  pins  of  beech  or  ash. 

In  a MS.  on  Long  Melford  Church,  dealing  with  the  period 
of  the  Reformation,  a pretty  correct  description  of  such  a frame  is 
found.  “ In  the  quire,”  says  the  writer,  “ was  a fair  painted  frame 
of  timber  to  be  set  up  about  Maunday  Thursday,  with  holes  for 
a number  of  fair  tapers  to  stand  in  before  the  sepulchre,  and  to 
be  lighted  in  service  time.  Sometimes  it  was  set  overthwart  the 
quire  before  the  high  altar,  the  sepulchre  being  always  placed  and 
finely  garnished  at  the  north  end  of  the  high  altar  . . . the 

said  frame  with  the  tapers  was  set  near  to  the  steps  going  up  to 
the  said  altar.  Lastly  it  was  used  to  be  set  up  along  Mr.  Clop- 
ton’s  aisle,  with  a door  made  to  go  out  of  the  Rood-loft  into 
it.”  114 

113  “ Volo  quod  Alicia  ux.  mea  supportabit  meum  paschal,  cereum  cremend.  coram 
sepulchro  in  die  parasives  et  eius  mortis.”  John  Bettesham  (1499),  C.  C.  R.  (v. 
353)- 

114  Neale:  Views  of  Most  Interesting  Churches , vol.  ii.  Compare  “a  chapel 
with  a frame  barred  with  iron”  in  an  Inventory  of  Stuff  of  the  Grey  Friars,  Bridg- 
water (amongst  the  things  received  out  of  the  church),  Letters  and  Papers,  Henry 
VIII,  vol.  xiii,  pt.  ii,  p.  130. 


488 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


The  church  accounts  of  St.  Lawrence,  Reading,  contain  refer- 
ences to  similar  lofts.  In  the  year  1516,  an  item  of  two  shillings 
and  twopence  was  paid  for  making  the  loft  of  the  sepulchre  light. 
Two  decades  later  (1538-9)  it  is  called  the  beam  light : “ Payd 
for  makeynge  the  beam  lights  over  the  sepulcre  ayenst  easter, 
xxjd.”  Another  decade  (1549),  and  we  have  the  entry  of  the  sale 
of  the  sepulchre  and  “ frame  for  tapers  thereto  annexed.” 

At  St.  Margaret’s,  Southwark  (1485),  four  long  cressets  and  a 
similar  number  of  short  ones  were  used  “ for  to  sett  the  lyghtes 
aboote  the  sepulture  on  good  fryday,  peynted  rede  with  yrons  to 
the  same.”  In  1499,  “a  lampe  and  . . . tentyr  hooks  to  the 
sepulchre,”  was  purchased  for  the  Church  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill, 
London.  In  the  (1552)  inventory  of  goods  belonging  to  All 
Saints’  Church,  Canterbury,  is  entered  “ ij  pyllers  to  bere  the 
sepulchre  lyght.” 

How  long  these  lights  burned  about  the  sepulchre  is  not 
clearly  apparent.  In  all  probability  they  were  generally  removed 
after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Host  from  the  sepulchre  on  Easter 
Day  or  one  of  the  days  following,  and  either  reserved  for  future 
use  in  the  same  connection,  or  other  like  purpose.  Richard  Wig- 
genden  the  elder  (1510),  bequeathing  four  kine  to  the  church- 
wardens of  Cowden  Church,  Kent,  to  provide  a wax  taper  of  five 
pounds  weight’  to  burn  before  the  sepulchre  on  Good  Friday  and  in 
the  time  of  Easter,  directs  that  that  taper  with  two  others  of  two 
and  a half  pounds  weight  each,  should  be  set  before  the  image  of 
Our  Lady.  In  like  manner  William  Petley  (1528),  left  “to  the 
maynten’ce  of  the  Sepulchre  light  in  Halstead  Church  (Kent),  a 
Taper  of  wax  iiij  lb.  weight  for  euer  to  be  contynued  and  yerely 
ayenst  Ester  to  be  made  of  the  weight  of  iiij  lb.  of  wax  wfc  the  weight 
of  the  old  stock  of  the  said  Taper  and  after  the  light  of  the  holy 
sepulcre  be  taken  down  yerely  in  the  Ester  weke  I will  the  stock 
of  the  said  sepulchre  taper  be  sett  before  the  forsaid  image  of  our 
Lady,  and  it  there  to  be  light  and  brent  at  conuenient  tymes.” 
Ralph  El  wick,  of  Seaton,  Yorkshire,  Gentleman,  leaves  by  his 
will  dated  May  2,  1531,  six  shillings  and  eight  pence,  to  find  one 
light  “ afor  sepulcor,”  such  light  “ to  be  dyspossed  as  his  execu  • 
tors  thynkes  the  best  to  be  doyn.” 115 

1,5  Test  amenta  Eboracensia,  vol.  vi,  p.  1 8.  (Surtees  Society.} 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


489 


The  Pyx. 

The  vessel  used  for  the  deposition  of  the  Host  in  the  majority 
of  churches  was  the  pyx  suspended  over  the  altar — pixide  in  taber- 
naculo  dependeat — or  a like  depository  reserved  for  the  purpose. 
The  Commissioners,  6.  Edward  VI  (1552),  found  at  All  Saints’, 
Canterbury,  “ a litill  monstros  of  sylver  clene  gylte  for  the  resur- 
rection.” In  the  Cathedral  and  Abbey  and  some  of  the  wealthy 
parish  churches  a special  pyx  in  the  form  of  an  image  of  the  dead 
or  risen  Saviour,  carved  in  wood  or  moulded  in  one  of  the  pre- 
cious metals,  was  used,  a receptacle  for  the  Sacred  Host  being 
provided  under  a beral116  in  the  breast : 

1557.  Ludlow  : ( Churchwardens ’ A c counts. ) 

“ for  makynge  and  kervynge  the  image  for  the  resurrexion, 
xvijd-  ’ ’ 

In  the  inventory  of  the  goods  of  Oxford  Cathedral  taken  in 
the  last  year  of  King  Henry  VIII’s  reign  appears : “ A pixe  of 
the  ymage  of  God,  gilte,  weing  33  ozs.”  The  Lincoln  Cathedral 
inventories  mention  an  image  of  Christ,  silver  and  gilt  with  a beryl 
before  and  a diadem  at  the  back  of  the  head,  and  a cross  in  the 
hand,  weighing  3 j ozs.  for  the  Sacrament  on  Easter  Day.  It 
seems  to  have  stood  upon  six  lions.117  Similar  pixes  were  at 
Durham,  the  Account  Rolls  having  a payment  of  four  pence 
“ for  ye  mendyng  of  ye  ymage  of  Christ  for  ye  resurrection 118 
and  Wells  “ a silver  gilt  image  of  the  risen  Christ.”  119  The  York 
Processional  has  “ imagine  cum  corona  spinia.”  120 

In  an  inventory  dated  38.  Henry  VIII,  of  St.  Peter’s,  Corn- 

118  I.  e.,  crystal  or  glass.  Leland  in  his  account  of  Sudely  Castle,  mentions  as  a 
thing  to  be  noted,  that  some  of  the  windows  were  glazed  with  beral.  Katherine, 
Countess  of  Northumberland  (will  dated  Saturday,  xiiij th  October,  1542),  be- 
queathed “ a burrall  with  a silver  foote  gilte  to  putt  in  reliques  with  thre  wiers  of 
silver  to  stand  on.”  Also  “ a pix  of  silver  in  burralles  for  the  sacrament.”  Testa- 
menta  Eboracensia , vol.  vi,  p.  167.  ( Surtees  Society.')  Circa  1500  Cathedral  Church 
of  York  had  “ unus  morsus  cum  passione  sancti  Thome  Cantuar.depicta  sub  berill.” 
York  Fabric  Rolls  ( Surtees  Society ),  p.  222. 

117  Wordsworth  : (Christopher),  Lincoln  Inventories , p.  16;  Inventories, 
Archceologia , vol.  liii,  pp.  16,  45. 

118  Durham  Account  Rolls,  vol.  iii,  p.  721.  ( Surtees  Society.) 

119  Dearmer  : (P.)  Wells , History  of  the  Cathedral  and  See,  pp.  102. 

120  Processionale  secundum  usum  Eboracensem , p.  170.  ( Surtees  Society.) 


49° 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  TV. 


hill,  London,  there  is  marked  as  lacking  “ a picture  [synonymous 
with  image]  for  the  resurrection  on  ester  day  wt  an  owche  of  silu’ 
and  guilt  in  the  breast.”  Taking  the  inventory,  6.  Edward  VI 
(1552),  at  St.  Saviour’s,  Southwark,  the  Commissioners  found 
“ ij  peaces  of  silver  knoppis  which  was  in  the  breast  of  the  ymage 
of  the  Resurrection.”  In  the  same  year,  taking  the  inventory  at 
Greenwich,  they  endorsed  thereon  a memorandum  to  the  effect 
that  all  the  goods  mentioned  in  the  inventory  had  been  delivered 
to  the  churchwardens  save,  among  other  things,  a “ small  thing 
of  silver  that  stode  in  the  brest  of  an  Image  of  woode  with  a 
cristall  stone,  presented  to  have  been  stolen.” 

Peacock  notes  the  destruction  of  such  a pyx  at  Belton,  in  the 
Isle  of  Axholme,  Lincolnshire,  “ a sepulker  with  little  Jack  broken 
in  pieces  one  year  ago  (1565-6 — sixth  year  of  Elizabeth);  but 
little  Jack  was  broken  in  pieces  this  year  (1566)  by  the  said 
churchwardens.” 

The  following  inventory  excerpt  from  an  inventory  of  the 
goods  of  a London  city  church  provides  an  instance  of  what  was 
probably  an  Easter  sepulchre  and  its  appurtenances  complete  : 

14 66.  London  : St.  Stephen,  Coleman  Street. 

uItm,  the  resurrecon  of  our  lorde  w4  the  avyse  in  his  bosn 
to  put  the  sac’ment  therein.” 

“ Itm,  anothir  grete  branch  be  for  the  Resurrecon  . 
w4  v small  branches  ther  on.  ” 

“ Itm,  xxij1  disshes  for  the  sepulcur  and  ij  disshes  for  the 
pascalle  w4  Cordes  that  ptainis  thereto.  ’ ’ 

“ Itm,  j grete  glasse  hangng  be  for  the  resurreccon  in  the 
chaunsell.” 

“ Itm,  j sepulcur  ou  gylgyd,  w4  j frame  to  be  set  ou  w4  iiij 
poste  and  cryste  p to.  ” 

“ Itm,  iiij  trestell  to  have  the  sepult  downe  w4  iiij  ironys  to 
be  r h4  vp  w4.” 

“ Itm,  iiij  Angell  for  to  be  set  on  the  posts  w4  iiij  senes  ij 
gyldyd  and  ij  not  gylgyt.  ’ ’ 

“ Itm,  iiij  grete  angell  to  be  set  on  the  sepulcur’  w4  dyus 
small  angell.” 

“ Itm,  ij  steyned  clothes  w4  the  apostoll  and  the  ppete 
bettyn  w4  golde  w4  the  crede.  ’ ’ 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


49 


“ Itm,  viij  bar  es  bettyn  wk  golde  to  be  set  abowte  the 
sepulcur  w*  dyus  small  pyns.” 

“ Itm,  iiij  knyghte  to  be  set  on  the  poste  befor  the  do  r.” 

“ Itm,  j angyll  to  be  set  in  the  dor.” 

“ Itm,  j canape  steyned  w*  a son  of  Golde  to  heng  ou  the 
sepulcur  at  ester.  ’ ’ 

“ Itm,  j Rydyl  steyned  wl  a chalix  and  the  fygur  of  the 
sacrament  ou  hyt.” 

1542.  “ Itm,  a clothe  to  drawe  ou  the  sepulture.” 

Watchers  at  the  Sepulchre. 

Certain  persons  were  appointed  to  watch  with  the  parishioners 
before  the  sepulchre.  Although  we  are  told  that  this  was  done 
in  reparation  “ for  the  watching  of  the  perfidious  Jews  and  blind 
heathen  ” round  our  Lord’s  sepulchre  of  humiliation  in  Jerusalem, 
or  that  they  were  prompted  the  more  readily  to  participate  in  this 
devotion  from  the  still  lingering  ancient  belief  that  the  Second 
Advent  of  our  Lord  would  take  place  on  Easter  eve,  it  was  little 
more  than  a following  of  the  custom  prevalent  among  our  mediaeval 
forefathers  of  watching  the  dead  till  burial. 

The  Constitutions  of  the  Parish  Clerks  at  Holy  Trinity  Church, 
Coventry,  dated  1462,  sets  it  down  as  the  duty  of  the  second 
Deacon  to  watch  the  Sepulchre  121  on  Good  Friday  at  night,  and 
of  the  (First?)  Deacon  on  the  night  of  Easter  Eve  “tyll  the 
resurreccion  be  don.”  122 

William  the  Bedeman  had  the  custody  of  the  sepulchre  light 
in  Bridgwater  Church  : — “ Solut  Willelmo  Bedeman  pro  custodia 
luminis  sepulcri  domini  in  festo  pasche,  viijd.”  Eight-pence 
appears  to  have  been  a general  sum  disbursed  to  the  watcher,  as 
it  was  paid  by  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Mary’s,  Reading,  in  1558 
(2.  Edward  VI),  to  “ Roger  Brock,  for  watching  of  the  sepulchre ; ” 
and  iijd  more  for  “syses” — (candles,  sixes),  and  “ collis  ” (char- 

121  The  Wolberswick,  Suffolk  church  accounts  (1451),  record  or  payment  “for 
watching  of  candel  Estorne  nytis.” 

122  Constitutions  of  the  Parish  Clerks  at  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Coventry  (A.D. 

1462),  Legg  (J.  Wickham).  The  Clerk's  Book  of  1549.  London,  1903.  Appen- 
dix I,  §§  65,  25,  pp.  62,  59.  British  Magazine , 1834,  vol.  vi,  p.  262.  Sharp, 
(Thomas),  Illustrations  of  the  . . History  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Coventry. 

Coventry,  1818. 


49  2 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


coal);  by  those  of  Eltham,  Kent,  in  1554,  for  two  nights’  watch- 
ing ; 124  and  in  1499,  at  St.  Lawrence,  Reading  “ for  wakyng  of  the 
Sepulcre.” 123  At  St.  Mary’s,  Devizes  (1499),  Is*  2c*-  was  paid 
“ to  four  rnen  for  keeping  of  the  Sepulchre  two  nights.” 125 

Refreshment  was  provided  for  the  watcher  in  the  shape  of 
bread  and  ale  and  in  fire  (charcoal)  to  keep  him  warm  : — 

1480-2.  London:  St.  Andrew  Hubbard,  East  Cheap.  (Church- 
wardens’ Accounts). 

“ Item , paid  for  brede,  ale  and  fyre  to  watche  the  sepulcre, 
vjd-” 

1517.  “Item,  paid  ffor  ij  watchers  of  the  sepulker,  viijd.  ; ffor 

choles  (charcoal)  & alle  & brede,  vijd-  ’ ’ 

1526-7.  “ Paid  at  Ester  for  Colis  bred  drynke  and  for  a man  to 

watche  the  sepulcre.  * ’ 

At  Lichfield  three  persons  are  said  to  have  kept 126  unbroken 
vigil  singing  psalms  until  Matins  were  said  on  Easter  morning ; 
at  Eton  College  three  or  four  of  the  elder  scholars  used  to  take 
the  watch  in  turn. 

This  watching  was  continued  without  intermission  until  the 
dawn  of  Easter  Day,  “ In  Die  Paschae ,”  says  the  Processionale 
secundun  usum  Eboracensem  (Surtees  Society  edition,  p.  170): 
“ In  aurora  pulsatis  campanis,  ad  classicum  congregato  clero  et 
populo,  flexis  genibus  dicitur  Oratio  Dominicalis ; et  postea 
Sacerdos  thurificet  sepulcrum,  et  proferatur  sacramentum  cum 
imagine  cum  corona  spinea.” 

In  the  MSS.  copy  of  the  Manual  in  the  library  of  Sir  John  Law- 
son,  Bart.,  of  Brough  Hall,  Catterick,  dated  about  1403,  the  rubric 
runs  as  follows  : — 

“ In  Die  Paschae.  In  die  Paschae  ad  Resurrectionem  Praelatus 
cum  mitiistris  cum  Capis  sericis,  flexis  genibus  coram  sepulchro , dicant 

123  Lysons  : Environs  of  London , vol.  iv,  p.  416. 

124  Coates:  History  op  St.  Lawrence , Reading , p.  214.  1507*  Pilton,  Somer- 
setshire “for  waking  of  the  sepulture  taper,  is.  ixd.  ” 

125  Duties  of  Parish  Clerks  of  St.  Nicholas,  Bristol  (1481)  15,  16,  fol.  32  et 

seq.  St.  Paul' s Ecclesiological  Society  Transactions , 1902,  vol.  v,  P.  ii,  pp.  no  etseq. 
Similar  Regulations  for  the  Two  Clerks  of  Holy  Trinity,  Coventry  (1462)  ; for  the 
Clerks  and  Sexton  of  Faversham,  Kent  (1506);  and  of  St.  Stephen’s,  Coleman 
Street,  London. 

126  Archceologia , vol.  i,  p.  16. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


493 


Orationem  Domini  cam,  et  surgant , et  thurificent  sepulcrum , et  accipiant 
pyxidem  cum  Corpore  et  Crucem , et  versis  vultibus  ad populum  incipiat 
Praelatus : 

V.— Responsorium.  Christus  resurgens  ex  mortuis. 

V. — Dicant  nunc  Judaei. 

Responsorium.  Christus,  et  cetera. 

V. — Dicant,  et  cetera. 

Quibus  percantatis  dicat  Praelatus  : 

V. — Resurrexit  Dominus. 

Chorus  respondeat : Sicut  dixit  nobis,  Alleluya. 

Et  secundum  quosdam  fiat  Processio  circa  fontem  baptismalem , cum 
Psalmo  Te  Deum  laudamus.” 

There  was  generally  a separate  procession  for  the  Sacred  Host 
and  the  Cross  from  the  sepulchre.  The  Ludlow  Church  accounts 
have  an  entry  (1555)  of  a payment  of  xxd  “ Paid  for  ij  lynkes 
at  Ester  to  here  before  the  sacrament.” 

Barnabe  Googe  in  1570  thus  describes  “ the  Resurrection  of 
the  Lord.” 

The  Scenery. 

“ At  midnight  then  with  carefull  minde,  they  up  to  mattens  ries, 

The  Clarke  doth  come,  and  after  him,  the  Priest  with  staring  eies  : 

The  Image  and  the  breade  from  out  the  graue  (a  worthie  sight) 

They  take,  and  Angels  two  they  place  in  vesture  white. 

An  other  Image  of  a Conquerour  they  forth  doe  bring,127 
And  on  the  aulter  place,  and  then,  they  lustily  doe  sing, 

That  Gates  of  hell  asunder  burst,  and  Sathan  overthrowne, 

Christ  from  his  graue  is  risen  up,  and  now  aliue  is  knowne. 

In  some  place  solemne  sightes  and  showes,  and  pageants  fayre  are  play’d, 

With  sundry  sortes  of  maskers  braue,  in  straunge  attire  aray’d, 

As  where  the  Maries  three  doe  meete,  the  sepulchre  to  see, 

And  John  with  Peter  swiftly  runnes,  before  him  there  to  bee.” 

It  would  seem  that  this  “ Image  of  a Conquerour,”  i.e.,  of  the 
risen  Saviour,  was  left  upon  the  Altar  until  Ascension  Day,  as  the 
author  continues  further  on  : — 

127  Wriothesley  in  his  Chronicle  notes  that  on  “ the  27th  day  of  November, 
being  the  first  Sunday  of  Advent,  preached  at  Paul’s  Cross,  Dr.  Barlow,  Bishop  of 
St.  David’s,  where  he  showed  a picture  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  made  with 
vices,  which  put  his  legs  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  blessed  with  his  hand  and  turned 
his  head.”  Camden  Society , II,  p.  i. 


494 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


“ The  blocke  that  on  the  aultar  still,  till  then  was  seen  to  stande, 

Is  drawne  up  hie  aboue  the  roof,  by  ropes,  and  force  of  hand,”  etc. 

This  was  also  the  custom  at  Durham. 

The  author  of  the  Durham  Rites  pictures  for  us  the  ceremony 
as  it  occurred  there  : There  was,  he  says  (I  have  modernized  the 
spelling),  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  Durham  very  solemn  service 
upon  Easter  Day  between  3 and  4 of  the  clock  in  the  morning 
in  honor  of  the  Resurrection,  where  two  of  the  oldest  monks  of 
the  quire  came  to  the  sepulchre,  being  set  up  upon  Good  Friday 
after  the  Passion,  all  covered  with  red  velvet  and  embroidered 
with  gold,  and  then  did  cense  it  either  monk  with  a pair  of  silver 
censers  sitting  on  their  knees  before  the  sepulchre,  then  they  both 
rising  came  to  the  sepulchre,  out  of  which  with  great  reverence 
they  took  a marvellous  beautiful  Image  of  our  Saviour  represent- 
ing the  Resurrection  with  a cross  in  his  hand  in  the  breast  whereof 
was  enclosed  in  bright  crystal  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  altar, 
through  the  which  crystal  the  Blessed  Host  was  conspicuous,  to 
the  beholders,  then  after  the  elevation  of  the  said  picture  (image) 
carried  by  the  said  two  monks  upon  a fair  velvet  cushion  all 
embroidered  singing  the  anthem  of  Christus  Resurgens  they 
brought  to  the  high  altar  setting  that  on  the  midst  thereof 
whereon  it  stood  the  two  monks  kneeling  on  their  knees  before 
the  altar,  and  censing  it  all  the  time  that  the  rest  of  the  whole 
quire  was  in  singing  the  foresaid  anthem  of  Christus  Resurgens, 
the  which  anthem  being  ended  the  two  monks  took  up  the  cush- 
ions and  the  picture  (image)  from  the  altar  supporting  it  betwixt 
them,  proceeding  in  procession  from  the  high  altar  to  the  south 
quire  door  where  there  was  (sic)  four  ancient  gentlemen  belonging 
to  the  prior  appointed  to  attend  their  coming  holding  up  a most 
rich  canopy  of  purple  velvet  tached  round  about  with  red  silk, 
and  gold  fringe,  and  at  every  corner  did  stand  one  of  these  ancient 
gentlemen  to  bear  it  over  the  said  Image,  with  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament carried  by  two  monks  round  about  the  church  the  whole 
quire  waiting  upon  it  with  goodly  torches  and  a great  store  of 
other  lights,  all  singing  rejoicing  and  praising  God  most  devoutly 
till  they  came  to  the  high  altar  again,  whereon  they  did  place  the 
said  Image  there  to  remain  until  the  Ascension  Day. 128 

128  Fowler  (Canon)  : Rites  of  Durham,  pp.  12-13.  {Surtees  Society.) 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE . 


495 


From  the  inventories  it  would  seem  to  have  been  customary 
in  some  places  after  the  removal  of  the  Sacred  Host  to  set  carven 
angels  either  within  or  at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  : 

1431.  London:  St.  Peter  Cheap.  {Churchwardens'  Accounts.) 

‘ ‘ Item,  j hersse  for  the  sepulcre  and  iiij  anngels  thereto.  ’ ’ 

1518.  “ iij  Images  for  the  Resurrexion.,, 

1485.  Southwark:  St.  Margaret.  ( Churchwardens'  Accounts.') 

1 1 Items,  vi  angelles  of  tre  [wood]  gylt  with  a tombe  to 
stande  in  the  sepulture  at  Ester.” 

15 1 1.  London:  St.  Margaret  Pattens  : ( Churchwardens'  Ac- 
counts.) 

11  Item,  twoo  Angelles  for  the  Sepulcre.” 

The  Mystery  Play. 

At  one  time  this  “ Office  of  the  Sepulchre  " took  the  form  of 
the  Mystery  Play,  the  priest  representing  the  risen  Christ ; three 
deacons,  the  three  Marys ; and  a boy  an  angel.  Such  a realistic 
performance  of  the  events  of  the  Passion  was  in  mediaeval  days 
the  chief  feature  of  Holy  Week.  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  is  said 
to  have  written  a play  on  the  Passion  of  Christ  to  take  the  place 
of  the  old  Greek  plays,  substituting  Christian  hymns  for  the  Greek 
chorus;  this  was  copied  with  variations,  and  in  the  thirteenth 
century  a company  was  formed  in  Rome  for  the  express  purpose 
of  representing  such  plays  in  Holy  Week  or  Corpus  Christi. 

Similar  plays  are  said  to  have  been  known  in  England  before 
the  year  xi  19,  and  to  have  been  publicly  performed  in  London 
in  1 1 80.  They  were  exhibited  in  churches,  monasteries,  and 
churchyards.129  We  have  undoubted  survivals  of  this  early  dra- 
matic element  in  the  Exeter  Cathedral  customs  for  Matins  on 
Christmas  night,  when  a boy  in  alb  and  amice  with  a lighted 
torch  in  his  hand,  took  the  part  of  the  announcing  angel.  Stand- 
ing on  the  highest  step  of  the  altar  facing  the  choir,  he  sang 
Hodie  nobis  caelorum  Rex  de  Virgine  nasci  dignatus  est,  after 
which  he  was  joined  by  six  more,  and  all  together  sang  Gloria 
in  excelsis  Deo.  At  Sarum  Cathedral  on  the  Feast  of  All  Saints 

129  Under  the  date  1672,  Evelyn  notices  the  setting  up  at  York  House,  and 
Somerset  House,  our  Lord  and  His  disciples,  as  waxwork  figures. 


49<5 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


at  Matins,  five  boys  representing  the  five  wise  Virgins,  each  in  a 
surplice  with  an  amice,  drawn  veil-like  over  his  head,  and  holding 
a lighted  taper  in  his  hand,  sang  the  response  Andivi  vocem  de 
coelo  dicentem;  Venite  omnes  virgines  sapientissimae . Here  also 
on  Palm  Sunday  “ an  acolyte  in  the  guise  of  a prophet  ” sang  the 
Prophetic  Lesson  after  the  Gospel  at  the  first  Station  of  the  Pro- 
cession.130 

Very  early,  says  the  Concordia  Regularise  “ before  the  bells  are 
rung  for  Matins,  let  the  sacristan  remove  the  cross  (from  the 
sepulchre)  and  restore  it  to  its  proper  place.  . . . Then  while 

the  third  lesson  is  being  read,  let  four  of  the  brethren  vest,  one  of 
whom,  wearing  an  alb  only,  is  to  enter  the  church  as  if  he  came 
for  some  other  purpose,  and  betake  himself  unobserved  to  the 
sepulchre,  where  he  shall  seat  himself  in  silence,  holding  a palm 
in  his  hand.  Then,  while  the  third  responsory  is  being  sung,  the 
other  three  shall  approach,  all  attired  in  copes  and  carrying  in 
their  hands  thuribles  with  incense.  Let  them  advance  to  the 
sepulchre  step  by  step,  like  men  who  are  searching  for  something ; 
for  all  this  is  done  to  represent  the  angel  seated  within  the  tomb 
and  the  women  coming  with  spices  to  anoint  the  body  of  Jesus. 
And  when  he  who  is  seated  there  observes  these  three  drawing 
near,  wandering,  as  it  were,  to  look  for  something  they  have  lost, 
let  him  begin  to  chant  sweetly  in  a voice  of  moderate  pitch,  Quem 
quaeritis  ? (Whom  seek  ye  ?)  Then  when  he  has  sung  to  the  last 
note,  let  the  three  answer  with  one  common  voice : Jesum  Naza- 
renum.  To  whom  he  again  replies  Non  est  hie,  surrexit  sicut  pre- 
dixerat.  Ite  nuntiate  quia  surrexit  a mortids.  Then  at  the  sound 
of  this  dismissal  let  all  three  turn  toward  the  choir  saying : 
Alleluia , surrexit  Dominus  (Alleluia,  the  Lord  is  risen).  After  this 
he  who  is  seated,  calling  them  back  as  it  were,  shall  intone  the 
antiphon : Venite  et  videte  locum  (Come  and  behold  the  place). 

130  Sarum  Processionale , pp.  50,  5 1 . The  prophet  appears  also  in  parish  church 
accounts  : — 

1451.  London:  St.  Mary-at-Hill.  {Church,  Accounts.}  “ Payd  to  Loreman 
for  playing  the  p’phet  on  Palm  Sunday,  iiij^.” 

At  St.  Peter-Cheap  (1519)  “ heres  ” (wigs)  were  hired  “ for  the  p’fetys at  St. 
Mary-at-Hill  (1531),  “ rayment at  St.  Andrew- Hubbard  (1520)  an  angel  was 
hired;  in  1 535— 7 “ a Preest  and  chylde  ” played  a messenger;  at  All  Hallows, 
Staining,  a pair  of  wings  and  a crest  were  hired  for  the  angel  [Ritibus  1590  AD.]. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE . 


497 


As  he  says  this  he  rises,  lifts  the  curtain  and  shows  them  the 
place  now  bereft  of  the  cross,  with  only  the  linen  cloth  lying  there 
in  which  the  cross  had  been  wrapped.  At  this  sight  they  put 
down  behind  the  sepulchre  the  thuribles  which  they  had  been 
carrying,  then  take  the  linen  shroud,  spreading  it  out  before  all 
the  clergy  and  while  thus  as  it  were  displaying  it,  to  show  that 
our  Lord  is  risen  and  is  no  longer  wrapped  therein,  they  sing  the 
antiphon,  Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro  (The  Lord  is  risen  from 
the  tomb),  after  this  they  spread  the  shroud  upon  the  altar.”131 

Canon  Ulysse  Chevalier  in  his  Ordinances  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Laon  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  gives  an 
account  of  the  Sepulchre  Office  at  that  time  and  place  : — Whilst 
the  bells  are  ringing  for  matins,  the  procession  ordered  thus  before 
the  altar  goes  to  the  sepulchre : first  two  boy-clerks  (clericuli) 
with  lights,  two  with  thuribles,  two  deacons,  two  others  to  sing 
“ Dicant  nunc ,”  the  cantor  and  the  succentor ; all  these  vested  in 
white  copes.  The  rest  follow  in  order,  each  one  bearing  a lighted 
candle.  The  aforesaid  deacons,  coming  to  the  door  of  the 
sepulchre,  begin  : “ Ardens  est.”  A boy-clerk  in  the  sepulchre  : 
“ Quem  queritis  ? ” The  deacons  : “ Jhe sum  Nazar enum!'  The 
boy-clerk : “ Non  est  hie!'  At  which  the  priest  vested  in  a white 
chasuble,  carrying  a chalice  with  the  Body  of  Christ,  coming  out 
of  the  sepulchre,  finds  at  the  door  four  boy-clerks  supporting  a 
canopy,  under  which  he  walks  in  front  of  the  procession,  the  two 
boy-clerks  with  lights  going  before  him,  and  the  two  with  thuribles 
beside  him.  Then  the  aforesaid  deacons  say : “ Surrexit  Dominus 
vere}  alleluia Afterwards  the  cantor  and  succentor  begin  that 
part  of  the  antiphon  “ Cum  rex  glorie  Christe  advenisti  desider- 
abilis  ; ” and  so  singing  all  go  up  the  nave  before  the  great  rood. 
After  the  antiphon  “ Chrisius  resurgens  ” two  canons  in  copes  sing 
the  verse,  “ Dicant  nunc!1  After  that  the  procession  enters  the 
choir,  singing  “ Quod  enim  vivit  vivit  Deo!'  The  priest  places 
the  chalice  on  the  altar.  Meanwhile  the  bells  are  rung  altogether. 
The  chalice  thus  placed  upon  the  altar  remained  so  exposed 

131  A ceremony  similar  in  purport  to  this  takes  place  on  Easter  Sunday  afternoon 
in  St.  Peter’s  Church  at  Rome.  See  also  Du  Cange,  v.  Sepulchri  Ofliciu?n  ; Mar- 
tens, De  Antiquis  Monachorum  Concordia  Regularis.  Migne  P.  Z.,  vol.  137, 
P-  495- 


498 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


during  matins  and  at  the  Te  Deum,  which  concluded  the  office, 
the  priest  placed  it  “ in  armariolo .”  132 

In  the  parish  churches  the  play  of  the  “ Resurrection  of  our 
Lord  ” would  be  of  a much  more  simple  character.  The  parish 
priest  with  a banner  in  his  hand  would  take  the  principal  part  ot 
the  risen  Christ,  the  parish  clerk,  with  certain  of  the  parish,  the 
characters  of  the  angel  and  the  three  Marys.  Parish  clerks  always 
took  the  principal  share  and  parts  in  the  representation  of  the 
“ Mysteries.”  The  Household  book  of  the  fifth  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, for  the  year  1512,  mentions  the  practice  : 

“ Item , ...  to  them  . . . that  play  the  play  of  Resurrection 
upon  Estur  day  in  the  mornnynge  in  my  lordis  chappell  befor  his 
lordshipe,  xx8, 1 ’ 

On  the  eve  of  the  Reformation,  about  the  year  1 541,  a Rationale 
was  drawn  up  by  the  English  bishops  to  explain  the  meaning  and 
to  justify  the  usage  of  the  ancient  rites  and  ceremonies.  In  this 
the  rite  of  the  Easter  sepulchre  is  stated  and  expounded  as 
follows  : 

“And  that  day  (Good  Friday)  is  prepared  and  well  adorned  the 
sepulchre  (in  remembrance  of  the  sepulchre,  which  was  prophesied 
by  the  prophet  Esaias  to  be  glorious),  wherein  is  laid  the  image  of 
the  cross,  and  the  most  Blessed  Sacrament,  to  signify  that  there  was 
buried  no  corpse  or  body  that  could  be  purified  or  corrupted,  but  the 
pure  and  undefiled  body  of  Christ,  without  spot  or  sin,  which  was 
never  separated  from  the  Godhead.  And  therefore,  as  David  expres- 
sed in  the  fifteenth  Psalm,  it  could  not  see  corruption,  nor  death 
could  not  detain,  or  hold  Him,  but  He  should  rise  again  to  our  great 
hope  and  comfort,  and  therefore  the  Church  adorns  it  with  lights,  to 
express  the  great  joy  they  have  of  that  glorious  triumph  over  death, 
the  devil,  and  hell. 

“Upon  Easter  Day  in  the  morning,  the  ceremonies  of  His  Resur- 
rection are  very  laudable,  to  put  us  in  remembrance  of  Christ’s  Res- 

181  See  April  issue,  page  340  note.  Will  of  Dan  John  Raventhorpe,  “ alma- 
riolum  subtus  idem  altare.  ’ ’ 

Chevalier  (Canoine  Ulysse)  Ordinaires  de  V Lglise  Cathldrale  de  Laon , 
XII-X1II  century,  etc.  The  simplicity  of  the  early  form  of  these  Resurrection 
plays  is  seen  in  an  excerpt  from  an  ancient  novel  often  quoted  by  the  old  dramatic 
poets,  e.g. , Ben  Jonson  in  his  Poetaster,  Act  iii,  Sc.  iv,  and  his  masque  of  The  Fortu- 
nate Isles.  It  was  “imprynted  by  Wyllyam  Copland  without  date,  in  4to,  bl.  let. 
among  Mr.  Garrick’s  Old  Plays,  K,  vol.  x. 


THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE. 


499 


urrection,  which  is  the  cause  of  our  justification.  And  that  as  Christ 
being  our  head,  was  the  first  among  the  dead  which  rose  never  to  die 
again  ; so  all  Christian  men  being  His  members,  do  conceive  thereby 
to  rise  from  death  of  sin  to  godly  conversation  in  this  life  ; and  finally, 
at  the  day  of  judgment,  when  the  bodies  and  flesh  of  all  mankind 
shall  by  the  operations  of  God  be  raised  again,  to  rise  with  Him  to 
everlasting  glory. ’ ’ 

“ Therefore,”  says  Cranmer’s  Articles  of  Religion,  “ these 
laudable  customs  are  not  to  be  condemned  and  cast  away,  but 
continued  to  put  us  in  remembrance  of  spiritual  things.” 

Within  a decade  of  years  the  ravages  of  the  Reformation  had 
done  their  work.  The  Easter  Day  of  1548  (March  15th — second 
Edward  VI)  saw  “the  Pyx,  with  the  Sacrament  in  it  taken 
out  of  the  Sepulchre  ” at  Worcester,  with  singing  “ Christ  is 
risen  ” with  procession,  although  on  Palm  Sunday  there  had  been 
no  palms  hallowed  and  on  Good  Friday  no  creeping  to  the  Cross. 
In  the  following  year,  Bishop  Blandford’s  Diary  shows  that  the 
end  had  come:  “1549.  Good  Friday.  No  Sepulchre,  or  Ser- 
vice of  Sepulchre.  Easter  Eve.  No  Paschal  Taper,  or  Fire,  or 
Incense,  or  Font.  On  April  23d.  Mass,  Matins,  Evensong,  and 
all  other  service  in  English.  All  Mass  Books,  Graduals,  Pics, 
Portasses,  and  Legends,  brought  to  the  Bishop  and  burnt.”  133 

In  the  reign  of  Mary  an  attempt  was  made  to  restore  the  old 
order  of  things,  but  her  death  and  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  again 
placed  them  in  a position  they  were  in  the  early  years  of  Edward 
Vi’s  reign,  when  the  rite  of  the  Easter  sepulchre  with  other 
ancient  usages  and  devotions  fell  into  total  desuetude. 

That  the  ceremony  survives  to  a certain  degree  in  the  modern 
altar  of  repose  may  be  admitted.  But  the  difference  between  the 
mediaeval  Easter  sepulchre  and  the  present-day  altar  of  repose  is 
a very  interesting  point,  too  long  to  be  treated  of  here. 

H.  Philibert  Feasey,  O.S.B.,  F.  R.  Hist.  Soc. 

Ramsgate , Kent. 

133  Green  : History  of  Worcester , vol.  i,  p.  127.  Among  the  points  objected 
to  Bishop  Gardiner  when  cited  before  the  Council  to  answer  certain  articles  “ written 
in  a paper”  in  May,  1548,  including  the  maintenance  of  certain  ceremonies 
in  his  Cathedral  at  Winchester  during  the  past  Holy  Week,  was  that  he  had  allowed 
the  Easter  Sepulchre.  Archbishop  Cranmer  in  some  “ Articles  of  Enquiry  ” put 
forth  in  August,  1548,  asks  whether  the  Easter  Sepulchre  had  been  used  at  the  Easter 
last  past. 


500 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 

**  f~\LD  CHARLESTON,”  as  a friend  calls  it,  is  a delightful 
place  to  visit.  I allude  not  to  its  situation  on  a tongue  of 
land  bordered  by  two  rivers,  the  Ashley  and  the  Cooper,  with  the 
beautiful  bay  over  which  one  looks  from  the  Battery,  five  miles 
away  to  Fort  Sumter  and  the  Ocean.  In  these  respects  it  resem- 
bles fair  Manhattan,  washed  by  the  North  and  East  rivers ; but 
the  chief  borough  of  New  York  City  is  further  in  from  the  sea 
than  is  Charleston.  I refer  not  to  its  political  history.  No  town 
in  the  Republic,  perhaps,  has  occupied  a more  prominent  place  than 
this  chief  city  of  that  commonwealth  which  was  represented  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation  by  Calhoun  and  Hayne,  to  mention  no 
others;  of  that  State  which  in  1832  nullified,  or  attempted  to 
nullify,  certain  measures  of  the  general  government  which  it 
deemed  incompatible  with  its  “ rights  of  that  State  which  first 
passed  an  ordinance  of  Secession  from  the  Union,  and  opened  the 
great  Civil  War  on  April  12,  1861,  by  firing  on  Fort  Sumter. 
Although  no  student  of  history  can  look  without  intense  interest 
upon  this  fort  on  its  little  island  in  the  middle  of  the  bay,  corre- 
sponding somewhat  with  Fort  Lafayette  in  the  New  York  “Nar- 
rows,” or  visit  without  stirring  emotions  this  little  brave,  cultured, 
proud  city,  that  dared  to  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  big  New 
York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  like  a bantam- cock  challenging 
so  many  Shanghais — yet  political  history  is  not  now  my  theme  : I 
wish  only  to  set  before  the  widespread  readers  of  The  Ecclesias- 
tical Review  some  notes  from  the  chronicles  of  the  Church  in 
Charleston,  coupled  with  observations  made  during  an  occasional 
visit. 

Charleston,  comprising  to-day  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  is 
one  of  the  oldest  dioceses  in  the  United  States,  having  received  its 
first  bishop  in  1820.  Since  then  it  has  had  a succession  of  bishops 
and  priests  renowned  perhaps  above  those  of  any  other  diocese 
for  learning,  eloquence,  and  classic  taste.  I need  but  name  our 
American  Bossuet,  John  England,  himself  an  ex-professor  and 
college  president  in  the  Athens  of  his  native  Ireland,  as  well  as  an 
ex-parish  priest  of  that  town  there  which  “Turk,  Jew,  or  Atheist,” 
might  enter,  “but  no  Papist”  I had  it  from  an  old  lady  in 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


501 


Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  who  as  a girl  knew  him,  that  “ he  used  to 
baptize  the  children  without  taking  any  money,  and  so  they  sent 
him  out  to  be  a bishop  in  the  Savannahs.”  He  was  consecrated 
in  Cork,  but  refused  to  take  the  then  usual  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  British  Crown,  saying  that  as  soon  as  he  reached  his  mission 
he  would  apply  for  citizenship  of  the  Republic.  He  died  in  1842, 
having  ruled  at  first  over  the  States  of  South  and  North  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  and  over  the  two  former  during  his  whole  lifetime.  His 
Sermons,  Letters,  Essays,  etc.,  were  published  many  years  ago 
(1849),  in  five  volumes,  and  though  an  abridgment  was  sent  out 
twenty  years  since,  the  original  work  still  commands  the  price  of 
thirty  dollars.  Now  a word  as  to  his  portrait.  I knew  and 
admired  him,  as  revealed  in  history  and  literature,  always,  but 
somehow  could  never  reconcile  myself  to  his  alleged  physiognomy. 
For  I believe  in  the  “ human  form  divine,”  especially  in  the  face, 
the  eyes  in  particular  as  being  “ the  windows  of  the  soul.”  Some 
wretched  limner  tried,  with  the  best  intentions  no  doubt,  to  per- 
petuate his  features,  and  pictured  a repulsive,  impossible  profile  of 
him  whom  “ listening  senates  ” as  well  as  admiring  multitudes 
heard  with  pleasure.  It  was  a great  delight,  on  my  recent  visit 
to  his  episcopal  city,  to  be  shown  a picture  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  the 
renowned  American  painter,  in  which  Bishop  England’s  rich, 
good-natured,  sparkling,  intelligent  Irish  face  still  lives  and  breathes 
on  the  canvas. 

The  native  spirit  of  the  Bishop  is  further  evidenced  from  a 
sentence  in  a letter  of  date  August  1,  1834,  addressed  by  him  to 
the  Very  Rev.  Paul  Cullen  (afterwards  Cardinal),  Rector  of  the 
Irish  College  in  Rome,  in  which  after  treating  of  the  insidious 
attempts  of  the  British  Government  to  make  Catholic  bishops 
salaried  employees  of  that  realm,  Bishop  England  adds  : — 

“ Now  I give  you  fair  notice : Do  not  trust  me  nor  yourself, 
when  either  of  us  comes  in  contact  with  a government.  These 
same  courts  are  dirty  places,  and  the  old  proverb  will  always 
continue  true,  ‘ He  that  handles  pitch  will  soil  his  fingers.’  When  I 
returned  to  Charleston  from  Hayti  ” [whither  he  had  been  sent  a 
Legate  by  the  Holy  See],  “ the  dogs  that  were  set  to  guard  against 
negroes,  began  to  bark  at  me,  though  previously  they  allowed  me 
to  pass.” 


502 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


Another  great  Bishop  of  Charleston  was  Patrick  Lynch,  a 
native  of  South  Carolina’s  backwoods,  who  saw  a priest  for  the 
first  time  when  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  This  man  was  easily 
the  first  among  his  clerical  contemporaries  as  well  as  among  the 
citizens  of  his  State,  in  scientific  attainments,  being  also  an  exact 
theologian  and  excellent  preacher,  as  well  as  a patriot  who  filled 
on  his  side  of  the  dispute  about  the  Federal  compact,  the  same 
fearless  and  assertive  position  occupied  on  the  other  by  Arch- 
bishop Hughes  of  New  York.  Bishop  Lynch  led  a martyr’s  life, 
for,  like  all  his  people,  he  loved  his  State  and  the  confederacy 
she  shared  in  inaugurating,  but  lived  to  see  her  and  it  trodden  in 
the  blood-soaked  dust  of  defeat  and  its  worse  consequences.  In 
addition  he  saw  his  Catholic  people  impoverished,  his  cathedral 
and  convents  burnt,  other  ecclesiastical  edifices  damaged  by  shot 
and  shell,  his  own  “ Bishop’s  Bank  ” ruined.  But  he  was  uncon- 
quered. Everyone  advised  him  that  he  was  under  no  obligation 
to  pay  his  “ debts,”  as  the  common  catastrophe  left  all  in  one  “ ruin 
upon  ruin,  rout  upon  rout,  confusion  worse  confounded.”  Was  it 
conscience  or  was  it  “ honor  ” that  moved  him  ? He  is  reported 
to  have  declared  that  “ no  one  should  have  it  to  say  that  he  had 
trusted  the  Catholic  Church  and  found  her  fail  him.”  So  he  “ left 
his  country  for  his  country’s  good,”  and  preaching,  lecturing,  and 
begging  throughout  the  North,  collected,  I was  told,  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  his  “ creditors.”  It  was  charity,  or  noblesse , 
at  any  rate,  if  it  was  not  justice. 

The  Rev.  James  Corcoran,  S.T.D.  (Propaganda),  a native  of 
Charleston,  for  many  years  recognized  as  our  foremost  American 
theologian,  was  one  of  the  lights  of  two  Plenary  Councils,  and 
went  to  Rome  in  1883  with  the  bishops  to  help  prepare  the  scheme 
of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  the  greatest  Council, 
except  the  Vatican,  held  in  the  last  three  centuries.  He  was  a 
learned,  simple,  lovable,  patriotic  priest,  who  died  at  Overbrook 
Seminary,  Philadelphia,  where,  during  many  years  he  had  aided 
in  building  up  the  learned  faculty  of  that  institution. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Baker,  an  Irishman,  preached  with  extra- 
ordinary assiduity  and  esteem  for  nearly  twenty-five  years  as  pastor 
of  St.  Mary’s,  the  first  church  in  Charleston,  but  burnt  his  sermons 
before  he  died. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


503 


Bishop  Reynolds,  the  second  holder  of  the  see,  had  been  a 
professor  in  one  of  the  ablest  faculties  constituted  thus  far  in  our 
country,  that  of  St.  Mary’s,  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  of  which  the 
Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Philadelphia 
and  later  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  and  so  well  and  favorably 
known  by  his  works  to  the  theologians  of  the  Vatican  Council, 
was  the  most  conspicuous  member. 

I shall  name  others,  but  it  may  interest  my  readers  to  know 
that  the  present  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University,  who  as  a 
student  at  the  Propaganda  was  distinguished  for  scholarship,  and 
who  so  many  years  governed  the  American  College  in  Rome, 
was  born  and  brought  up,  like  Bishop  Lynch,  in  the  uplands  of 
South  Carolina. 

The  earliest  priest  known  to  have  visited  the  region  was  one 
Cleary,  a Canon  of  Funchal,  Madeira,  who  died  at  Newbern,  N.  C., 
in  1790,  at  the  home  of  the  mother  of  Judge  Gaston,  the  Cath- 
olic Chief  Justice  of  North  Carolina.  The  King  of  Spain,  on 
account  of  the  many  vessels  of  that  nation  then  visiting  Charles- 
ton, proposed  locating  there  a Catholic  chaplain,  but  Bishop 
England  put  not  his  “trust  in  princes,”  saying  that  “ecclesiastics 
who  court  the  favor  of  principal  or  subordinate  ministers  are  not 
generally  the  most  excellent  body.”  He  consented,  however,  to 
have  the  French  and  Spanish  settlers  solicit  aid  from  their  respec- 
tive courts  for  the  founding  of  a church.  Those  “ settlers  ” were 
probably  merchants  and  their  clerks,  men  of  considerable  educa- 
tion ; and  indeed  many  persons  used  to  wealth  and  refinement 
were  doubtless  amongst  the  refugees  from  the  San  Domingo 
revolution  who  found  a home  in  the  city. 

The  Rev.  Simon  Felix  Gallagher,  a priest  of  Dublin  and  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Paris  (on  either  score  he  may  be 
accounted  a man  of  culture),  became  pastor  of  St.  Mary’s  in 
1793.  Indeed  Bishop  England  tells  us  that  he  possessed  “ extra- 
ordinary eloquence,  a superior  intellect  and  a finely  cultivated 
mind.”  Father  Gallagher  was  succeeded  by  Father  De  Clori- 
viere,  a Breton  of  ancient  and  noble  ancestry,  who  for  his  bravery 
during  the  French  Revolution  was  decorated  by  the  legitimate 
King,  and  after  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune  became  a priest  in  the 
forty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  showed  great  virtue  during  the 


504 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


schism  in  St.  Mary’s  Congregation,  and  died  Superior  of  the 
Visitation  Convent,  Georgetown,  D.  C. 

The  Rev.  Benedict  Fenwick,  S.J.,  ex-president  of  Georgetown 
College  and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Boston,  held  the  pastorate  of 
St.  Mary’s  for  six  years,  saying  Mass  in  a neighboring  hall,  while 
he  endeavored  to  bring  the  revolted  parishioners  to  a sense  of 
their  duty. — And  so  on  through  the  list. 

Men  such  as  these,  endeavoring  to  raise  their  little  flock  to  a 
respectable  place  in  the  midst  of  the  alienated  children  of  the 
Church  (by  these  I mean  the  general  population,  not  the  occa- 
sional schismatics),  naturally  gave  an  elevated  taste  and  tone  to 
their  people.  The  example  of  their  neighbors  constantly  spurred 
them  on,  for  Charleston  was  the  capital  of  the  proud  planters  of 
South  Carolina,  who,  abounding  in  wealth  and  cut  off  from  com- 
merce with  the  Northern  States,  traded  directly  with  Europe,  sent 
their  children  to  be  educated  in  foreign  parts,  imported  all  their 
house  furniture  as  well  as  works  of  art  and  expensive  viands,  and 
naturally  took  on  a classic  form  and  ambition,  less  common  to  their 
fellow-citizens  nearer  the  Pole.  Indeed,  even  at  the  present  day 
one  is  struck  by  the  endless  profusion  of  antiques  in  the  way  of 
clocks,  caskets,  beds,  sofas,  fireplaces,  engravings,  table-ware, 
candelabra,  etc.,  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Curiosity  shops  of 
Charleston,  though  the  South  has  long  been  exploited  for  such 
relics  of  bygone  days.  The  whole  tone  was,  and  is  still,  to  a 
degree,  classic.  The  architecture  shows  this  in  many  edifices 
erected  by  private  individuals  and  associations,  while  the  Govern- 
ment has  built  at  Charleston  a Custom  House  which  is  a gem  of 
purest  Greek.  There  is  one  like  it  at  Norfolk,  also  pure  Cor- 
inthian, but  it  is  not  so  favorably  situated  as  that  in  the  metropolis 
of  South  Carolina.  Both  are  well  worth  the  while  going  far  to  see. 
Of  course,  there  are  Greek  buildings  in  Washington,  and  some 
few  of  the  taste  of  the  middle  of  the  past  century  are  left  in 
New  York;  but  they  are  not  all  as  well  proportioned  in  size  to 
the  cities  in  which  they  stand  as  the  buildings  in  these  Southern 
towns.  Besides,  we  are  not  naturally  nor  easily  attracted  by 
colossal  structures,  nor  can  we  love  the  monstrous  any  more  than 
Gulliver  could  admire  the  presumed  beauty  of  that  enormous 
woman  in  Brobdignag.  A special  reason  of  our  enjoyment  of 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


505 


Greek  architecture  comes  from  the  harmony  of  the  size  with  the 
sites  of  the  buildings;  and  most  of  our  great  cities  do  not  offer 
the  advantage  of  situation  which  makes  the  Parthenon  sit  so  well 
on  the  Acropolis.  Bury  it  down  in  Wall  Street,  New  York,  and 
it  will  lose  most  of  its  attractiveness.  Now,  the  small  size  of 
Charleston,  and  the  discreet  width  of  its  streets,  brings  the 
moderate-sized  structures  into  harmony  with  their  surroundings, 
and  goes  far  to  explain  the  hold  they  take  on  a visitor. 

Of  the  classic,  more  anon.  My  object  now  is  to  discover  the 
source  of  that  culture  in  word  and  work  and  manner,  of  that  taste 
for  ancient  as  well  as  modern  literature,  which  has  distinguished 
ecclesiastical  Charleston  and  marks  it  to-day.  In  addition  to 
what  has  been  said,  I think  that  the  softness  of  the  climate,  the 
few  opportunities  for  gaining  money,  together  with  the  leisure  due 
to  the  very  slow  increase  in  the  number  of  the  faithful,  combined 
with  the  spirit  of  the  forepart  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when 
allusions  to  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  as  well  as  quotations 
from  it,  were  quite  common  in  Congress  as  well  as  in  Parliament, 
had  much  to  do  with  it.  An  example : When  one  of  our  states- 
men, whose  name  I do  not  recall,  was  eulogizing  the  “ Last  of  the 
Signers,”  our  beloved  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  he  described 
the  venerable  man,  in  his  ninetieth  year,  curled  up  on  a lounge,  a 
shawl  thrown  over  his  frail,  shrunken  body:  “Quot  libras  in  duce 
summo  ! ” he  exclaimed.  I fear  that  few  to-day  would  understand 
or  appreciate  his  use  of  this  terse  and  eloquent  phrase  of  the 
Roman  satirist.  If  the  people  of  Charleston  or  of  South  Carolina 
had  the  same  chance  to  make  money  as  those  in  the  North  or 
West  have,  it  may  be  they  would  join  with  the  rest  in  the  race  for 
gold.  Without  prospect  of  wealth,  and  having  no  abject  poverty 
in  their  State,  they  wisely  practise  contentment,  and  seek  the 
“ things  of  the  mind,”  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  imagination,  so 
much  purer,  more  lovely,  and  more  lasting. 

As  I have  said,  Bishop  England  had  been  a professor  in  Cork, 
and  at  once,  on  reaching  his  diocese,  started  a seminary,  instruc- 
tion in  which  was  given  by  himself  and  the  priests  of  the  town. 
His  “ academy  ” also  was  for  a time  very  prosperous  and  influ- 
ential. In  addition  he  established  a periodical,  The  Catholic 
Miscellany , one  of  the  earliest  ventures  in  this  department  of  the 


506 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


ministry.  Bishop  Lynch  himself  told  me  that  he  used  to  set  type 
for  this  publication.  Dearth  of  newspapers  as  well  as  of  novels, 
and  absence  of  the  objectionable  mass  of  literature  that  tempts  us, 
and  consumes  so  much  of  our  valuable  time,  and  waters  our  brains 
to-day,  together  with  the  obligation  of  teaching  young  men  who 
were  likewise  free  from  such  distractions,  naturally  developed 
acquaintance  and  familiarity  with  the  Classics,  and  raised  the 
standard  of  clerical  learning  in  Charleston  higher  than  it  was  else- 
where, except  at  such  shrines  of  the  Muses  as  our  Mount  Saint 
Mary’s,  where  similar  conditions  existed,  and  which  claims  several 
of  the  living  clergymen  of  this  diocese  for  her  sons.  At  any  rate, 
the  effect  remains,  and  the  visitor  to-day  is  entertained,  refreshed, 
and  charmed  with  the  still  unbroken  traditions  of  early  days. 
I will  illustrate  this  further  before  closing  these  notes  of  a 
traveller. 

The  St.  Mary’s  Church  mentioned  is  the  first  temple  in  which 
an  altar  to  the  Living  God  was  erected  in  the  territory  comprised 
by  Georgia,  North  and  South  Carolina.  The  original  building 
was  bought  on  August  24,  1789,  one  year  before  the  consecration 
of  the  first  bishop  of  Baltimore.  The  present  edifice  dates  from 
1838,  and  is  of  the  Doric  style  so  common  in  buildings  of  the 
period.  Even  inside  to-day  the  pure  white  marble  altar  is  unique 
for  simplicity  and  chasteness,  as  well  as  for  a feature  that  seems 
very  praiseworthy — I mean  a marble  credence  table  on  either  side 
on  a level  with  the  platform.  The  church  has  had  for  pastors  and 
assistants  nearly  all  the  priests  above  spoken  of,  but  is  unfortu- 
nately distinguished  for  the  longest  schism  in  our  ecclesiastical 
history,  a schism  which  caused  divine  worship  to  be  forbidden 
within  its  walls  for  many  years,  and  which,  starting  in  1810,  came 
to  a climax  in  1815,  lapsed  in  1822,  but  was  not  finally  extin- 
guished till  1897,  under  the  pastorate  of  Father  Thomas  Hopkins, 
who,  coming  a stranger  to  the  diocese,  was  not  embarrassed  by 
ties  of  blood,  politics,  or  custom ; and  having  shown  zeal  and  de- 
votion to  the  interests  of  the  parish,  then  at  last  put  an  end  to  the 
trustee  system,  a system  that  has  caused  much  trouble  in  various 
dioceses  of  the  United  States,  but  in  none  more  than  in  Charleston. 
A detailed  account  of  the  unhappy  schism  will  be  found  in  Shea’s 
History . Readers  who  are  interested  will  obtain  a clear  idea  of 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


50  7 


this  unfortunate  affair,  by  this  quotation  from  the  “ Memorial  ” of 
the  pewholders  to  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  dated  December 
3,  1817: 

“Your  Memorialists  beg  leave  to  hope  that  in  this  . . . they 
require  nothing  incompatible  with  the  just  authority  of  the  hierarchy, 
and  in  this  hope  they  find  themselves  founded  ...  by  finding 
it  countenanced  by  the  tenth  article  of  the  Concordat  established  be- 
tween his  present  Holiness  and  the  consular  government  of  France, 
in  the  year  1801.  . . . Your  Memorialists  anxiously  look  forward 

to  the  day  when  a Concordat  shall  define  and  settle  the  relative  relig- 
ious rights  of  the  sovereign  people  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion 
in  the  United  States,  and  of  their  clergy.  Your  Memorialists  beg  leave 
to  suggest  to  Your  Reverence,  that  the  part  of  the  sovereign  people  of 
these  United  States  in  communion  with  his  Holiness  the  Pope,  as  their 
government  interferes  not  in  the  matter  of  religion,  think  and  hold 
themselves  immediately  entitled  to  the  same  benefits  and  immunities  in 
the  irreligious  concerns,  as  are  established  between  the  Court  of  Rome 
and  the  Sovereigns  of  Europe  intermediately  negotiating  for  the  inter- 
est and  religious  liberties  of  their  subjects.” 

“ Ha ! dinna  ye  hear  the  slogan  ?”  Do  you  hear  the  voice  ot 
South  Carolina?  Do  you  not  wonder  that  Fort  Sumter  was  not 
fired  on  forty-four  years  sooner?  However,  enough  of  that. 

In  connection  with  this  strong  self-assertion  on  the  part  of  the 
trustees,  it  is  interesting  to  read  of  the  project  for  Church  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States,  laid  by  Bishop  England  himself  before 
the  Propaganda,  in  a communication  of  date  June  24,  1824.  In- 
deed the  scheme,  subscribed  by  the  clergy  and  most  of  the  laity, 
had  been  adopted  and  was  in  force  in  the  diocese  of  Charleston 
and  it  was  to  obtain  for  it  the  approval  of  the  Holy  See  that  this 
letter  was  written.  Chapter  VI  of  the  Constitution,  as  he  calls  it, 
runs  as  follows : 

“ Every  year,  on  a day  and  in  a place  designated  by  the  Bishop, 
there  will  be  a meeting  of  the  clergy  and  of  select  laymen  from  each 
congregation  to  consult  with  the  Bishop  on  the  state  of  the  Church  in 
the  diocese.  If  the  clergy  desire  to  consult  with  the  Bishop  on  eccle- 
siastical affairs,  they  will  do  so  apart  and  in  secret.  At  this  meeting 
statements  of  moneys,  possessions,  buildings  and  revenues  will  be  ren- 


508 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


dered.  The  sums  received  during  the  year  for  the  general  good  of 
the  Church  will  be  assigned  to  the  maintenance  of  the  seminary,  the 
erection  of  schools,  the  support  of  missionaries,  and  to  aid  the  con- 
vents and  other  pious  works,  the  assignment  to  be  made  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  majority  of  the  clergy  deliberating  separately,  and  of  the 
majority  of  the  laity  deliberating  separately,  and  with  the  approbation 
of  the  Bishop.  The  Bishop,  the  Vicar-General,  and  three  priests  to 
be  selected  by  the  clergy,  and  six  laymen  to  be  chosen  from  the  lay- 
men present,  will  manage  the  funds  and  the  temporalities,  and  will 
carry  out  the  regulations  made  in  regard  to  the  latter.” 

The  entire  Constitution  may  be  read  in  Vol.  VII,  p.  450,  of 
the  Records  of  the  American  Catholic  Historical  Society , where  also, 
p.  487,  I found  the  letter  quoted  in  a previous  paragraph.  They 
were  discovered  in  Rome  by  a missionary  of  the  Propaganda,  the 
Rev.  Ferdinand  Kittell,  at  the  time  archivist  for  the  Society  just 
mentioned,  but  unfortunately  for  American  History,  though  happily 
for  the  people  of  Loretto,  Pa.,  no  longer  filling  that  scholarly  office 
for  which  no  priest  in  the  United  States  were  better  fitted.  One 
reflection  I cannot  suppress  : The  educational  and  social  level  of 
the  Catholics  in  Charleston  seems  to  have  been  higher  than  else- 
where. Can  we  imagine  the  Bishop  of  Boston  at  least,  of  New 
York  or  of  Philadelphia  proposing  to  establish  in  1824  a Lay 
House  to  take  part  in  church  government  P1 

Entering  the  now  sacred  and  consecrated  St.  Mary’s,  one  is 
struck  with  its  order  and  neatness, — the  altar  especially,  and 
properly,  first  holding  one’s  attention.  Let  artists  pass  judgment 
on  the  harmony  between  rich  Gothic  stained  glass  and  Hellenic 
architecture.  I merely  allude  to  the  great  painting  in  the  middle 
of  the  ceiling,  executed,  at  the  expense  of  a number  of  priests 
Avho  had  been  pupils  of  Dr.  Corcoran  at  Overbrook,  as  a monu- 
ment to  his  memory.  What  attracted  me  most  were  the  tomb- 
stones set  in  the  pavement  bearing  the  names  of  deceased  pastors, 
but  especially  the  mural  tablets,  one  of  which,  recalling  the  memory 
and  worth  of  a classmate,  and  exhibiting  the  most  beautiful  speci- 
men of  the  lapidary  epitaphic  style  with  which  my  travels  in  this 
country  have  made  me  acquainted,  I herewith  present : — 

1 Shea,  Vol,  III,  p.  321,  who  quotes  Bishop  England’s  works,  Vol.  V,  p.  91. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON, 


509 


“ Consummatus  in  brevi 
explevit  tempora  multa.” 

MEMORIAE 

CLAUDIANI  . B.  . NORTHROP 
DOMO  . KAROPOLI  . QUI  . ECCLES. 

HANG  . XII  . ANNOS  . REXIT  . INNOCENTIA  . VITAE 
ET  . STUDIO  . JUVENTUTIS  . AD  . PIETATEM 
INFORMANDAE  . OMNIBUS  . CARUS 
OBIIT  . XI  . KAL  . OCT.  . A.  . D.  . MDCCCLXXXXI 
ANNOS  . NATUS  . XXXVIII  . M.  . lx  D.  . VI. 
HAVE  . SACERDOS  . SANCTE. 

CUJUS  . IMMATURAM  . MORTEM  . SI  . VOTA 
NOSTRA  . DEPELLERE  . POTUISSENT 
SPEM  , NOSTRAM  . ET  . EXPECTATIONEM  . TUI 
QUAM  . VIRTUTE  . CONCITAVERAS 
SPLENDIDE  . SUPERASSES 


This  gem  of  Christian  epigraphy  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Cor- 
coran. 

Going  out  of  the  sacristy  door  we  find  ourselves  at  once  in 
what  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  curious  and  interesting  grave- 
yards in  the  whole  country.  Its  crowded  space,  of  perhaps  eight 
hundred  square  feet,  has  many  a different  shape  of  tombstone,  the 
French  crib,  of  which  we  have  a specimen  in  God’s  Acre  on  our 
“ Mountain,”  being  most  suggestive  and  pleasing.  Nearly  seventy 
years  ago  Bishop  England  wrote  of  this  consecrated  spot : “ The 
cemetery,  which  is  now  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  affords  in  the 
inscriptions  of  its  monuments  the  evidence  of  the  Catholicity  of 
those  whose  ashes  it  contains.  You  may  find  the  American  and 
the  European  side  by  side.  France,  Germany,  Poland,  Ireland, 
Italy,  Spain,  England,  Portugal,  Massachusetts,  Brazil,  New  York, 
Mexico,  have  furnished  those  who  worshipped  at  the  same  altar 
with  the  African  and  Asiatic  whose  remains  are  there  deposited  ; 
during  life  they  were  found  all  professing  the  one  faith,  derived 
from  a common  source ; after  death  their  remains  commingle. 
The  family  of  the  Count  De  Grasse,  who  commanded  the  fleets 


5io 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


of  France  near  the  Commodore  of  the  United  States,  and  his 
partner,  sleep  in  the  hope  of  being  resurrected  by  the  same 
trumpet,  to  proceed  from  their  neighboring  beds  of  earth  to  the 
possession  of  thrones  purchased  by  the  blood  of  their  common 
Redeemer.” 

The  generations  of  the  dead  who  have  since  been  laid  to  rest 
in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Mary’s  only  serve  to  emphasize  those 
words  of  long  ago.  Priest,  levite,  and  layman,  lie  side  by  side, 
awaiting  the  coming  Resurrection.  An  almost  forgotten  slab 
with  scarcely  legible  letters  marks  the  resting-place  of  two  of  the 
first  priests  of  the  diocese  of  Charleston,  the  Rev.  Godfrey  Shee- 
han and  the  Rev.  John  Bermingham.  They  were  both  natives  of 
County  Cork,  in  Ireland ; both  had  received  Holy  Orders  in  this 
city,  and  each  died  in  the  3 2d  year  of  his  age, — Father  Sheehan 
on  September  16,  1827,  and  Father  Bermingham  on  October  23, 
1831.  Father  Bermingham  was  the  first  priest  ordained  in  the 
city  of  Charleston,  by  the  first  bishop  of  the  diocese. 

The  tomb  of  Mrs.  Mary  Watson,  who  bequeathed  the  old 
rectory  to  the  church,  is  a conspicuous  feature.  The  tomb  of 
the  family  of  Count  De  Grasse,  referred  to  above  by  Bishop  Eng- 
land, bears  at  the  head  a coronet  displayed  over  a shield,  with 
the  family  coat-of-arms.  Its  inscription  runs  thus  : — 

“Underneath  lie  interred  the  bodies  of  D’lle  Amelie  Maxime 
Rosalie  De  Grasse,  deceased  on  the  23d  day  of  August,  1799  ; and  of 
D’lle  Melanie  Veronique  Maxime  De  Grasse,  deceased  on  the  19th 
of  September,  1799,  daughters  of  the  late  Francis  Joseph  Paul,  Count 
De  Grasse,  Marquis  of  Tilly,  of  the  former  Counts  of  Provence  and 
Sovereign  Princes  of  Antibes,  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Naval  Army 
of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty,  Commander  of  the  Royal  Order  of  St. 
Louis,  and  member  of  the  Military  Society  of  Cincinnati.” 

As  an  incident  in  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  of  the 
Battle  of  Yorktown,  at  which  Count  De  Grasse  had  commanded 
the  French  fleet,  this  tomb  was  carefully  restored  by  the  City 
Council  in  October,  1881,  and  on  the  19th  of  that  month,  having 
been  splendidly  decorated  with  flowers  by  the  ladies  of  St.  Mary’s 
Parish,  was  visited  by  thousands  of  citizens. 

Directly  across  the  street  from  St.  Mary’s  is  a very  graceful 
Jewish  synagogue,  built  sideways  to  the  thoroughfare,  either  as 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


51 


an  assertion  of  South  Carolina  individuality  and  independence,  or 
in  order,  as  we  understood,  that  its  chancel-end  might  be  to  the 
east,  as  in  our  churches  likewise  it  should  properly  be. 

The  Church  and  the  Synagogue ! What  a wonderful  synthesis 
of  Divine  Religion ! The  Old  dispensation  and  the  New ! Here 
they  are,  side  by  side,  yet  as  far  apart  as  they  were  nineteen  hun- 
dred years  ago.  We  gazed  long  and  often  at  this  classic  struc- 
ture, the  foundation  of  which  goes  back  to  1794,  while  the  present 
pure  Doric  building  dates,  like  St.  Mary’s,  from  the  fire  of  1838. 
The  Rabbi,  a gentleman  educated  in  England  and  Germany, 
received  us  in  his  pleasant  study  with  democratic  courtesy,  and 
made  us  acquainted  with  the  part  the  Chosen  People  had  taken  in 
the  American  Revolution.  His  synagogue  interiorly  was  like  a 
parlor,  very  comfortable  and  tastefully  decorated,  for  the  Jews,  of 
course,  are  well  off,  and  he  is  publishing  through  Lippincott  a 
small  edition  de  luxe  of  his  Jews  in  South  Carolina , at  ten  dollars 
a copy. 

In  the  tastily  furnished  and  ornate  Church  of  St.  Joseph,  not 
far  away,  our  eye  was  caught  by  a mural  inscription,  evidently 
from  the  classic  pen  of  its  pastor.  It  is  near  the  tomb  of  a priest 
who,  like  Dr.  Corcoran  and  Bishop  Lynch,  was  an  alumnus  of  the 
writer’s  Alma  Mater,  the  Propaganda,  and  reads  as  follows : 

JOANNI  . JOSEPHO  . WEBENFELLER 
SACERDOTI 

QTJI  . HUIC  . AEBI  . PRAEPOSITUS 
COMITATE  . CONSILIO  . VITA 
CIVES  . AD  . VIRTTJTEM  . ET  . RELIGIONEM 
INSTITUIT 

OBITT  . XV  . CAL  . SEXTILES 
AN  . MDCCCXCIX 
AETATIS  . AN  . XLIII 
PARENTI  . OPTIMO  . DESIDERATISSIMO 
CURIALES  . POSUERUNT. 

The  cathedral  of  Charleston  is  almost  completed,  and  will,  it 
is  hoped,  be  opened  for  worship  within  this  year.  It  is  a fine 
structure,  suited  in  size  to  the  little  city,  and  as  an  architectural 
work  sustains  the  reputation  of  that  artist  who,  to  our  mind,  has 


512 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


not  received  of  the  American  public  a tithe  of  the  fame  and 
revenue  he  deserved  and  earned — I mean  the  author  of  those 
splendid  edifices,  the  Cathedrals  of  Hartford,  Albany,  Boston, 
Providence,  Pittsburg,  etc.,  and  of  the  perfect  Church  of  St.  Mary, 
Norfolk — Patrick  Keeley.  Charleston  Cathedral,  of  which  the 
present  building  is  a reproduction,  was  destroyed  in  that  sad  year 
1 86 1,  and  nothing  was  done  toward  replacing  it  till  twenty  years 
later,  when  John  McKeegan’s  bequest  of  $50,000  became  avail- 
able, and  the  work  was  begun.  By  1893  about  $117,000  had 
been  laid  out,  and  work  was  suspended-  till  a short  time  since, 
when  the  prudent  authorities  had  collected  enough  to  warrant 
further  advance.  Nothing  is  to  be  seen  as  yet  in  the  interior 
except  the  light,  airy  proportions ; but  we  admired  the  size  and 
situation  of  the  sacristy,  which  is,  as  it  were,  an  extension  of  the 
sanctuary  to  the  rear,  and  measures  30  x 60  feet.  The  walls  of 
the  church  are  of  brown  freestone,  indented  with  star-shaped  cuts 
to  lessen  the  destructive  action  of  the  weather.  In  this  mild 
climate,  however,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  material  will  prove 
enduring  in  its  beauty.  We  pray  that  God  may  grant  the  typical 
South  Carolina  prelate,  who  has  borne  so  large  a share  in  the 
sorrows  of  his  people,  the  happiness  of  dedicating  with  them  this 
beautiful  temple,  which  their  generosity,  aided  by  that  of  their 
Northern  brethren,  will  have  freed  from  debt,  and  of  presenting  it 
to  God  the  Father  “ like  a bride  adorned  for  her  consort,”  a type 
of  the  “ glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such 
thing,  but  holy  and  without  blemish,”  the  fair  Bride  of  Christ, 
His  Eternal  Son. 

In  a corner  of  the  lot  surrounding  the  Cathedral  is  buried  a 
veteran  missionary  of  the  diocese,  and  we  venture  to  present  the 
inscription  on  his  tomb,  redolent  as  it  is  of  appreciation  of  his 
simple  noble  character,  as  well  as  classic  in  its  elegance  : 

HEIC  . IN  . PACE  . CHRISTI  . QUIESCIT 
TIMOTHEUS  . BERMINGHAM 
NAT  . HIBERNUS 

VICARIA  . POTESTATE  . IN  . ECCLES  . CAROLOPOLITANA 
FUNCTUS  . ANNOS  . VI 
VIR  . ANTIQUAE  . SANCTITATIS 

ET  . DE  . RELIGIONS  . PER  . CAROLINAM  . AUSTRALEM  . ET 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


513 


GEORGIAM  . OPTIME  . MERITUS  . CATHOLICI  . NOMINIS 
PRQPAGANDI  . ANIMARUMQUE  . JUVANDARUM 

STUDIOSISSIMUS  . OMNIBUS  . OB  . PIETATEM  . MORES 
ILLIBATOS  . ET  . CANDOREM  . ANIMI  . INCOMPARABILEM 
MAXIME  . ACCEPTUS  . QUI  . AETATE  . AC  . LABORIBUS 
CONFRACTUS  . NEO-EBORACI  . QUO  . VALETUDINIS  . CAUSA 
RECESSERAT  . IMPROVISA  . MORTE  . ABREPTUS  . AT  . NON 
IMPARATUS  . AD  . SUPEROS  . EVOLAVIT  . PRID  . NON  . JUN. 
ANNO  . REP  . SAL  . MDCCCLXXII  . ANNO  . AET  . SUAE  , LXXV 
EXUVIIS  . DOMUM  . TRANSLATIS  . ET  . HEIC  . TUMULATIS 
AMICI  . MOERENTES 
HONORIS  . PIETATISQUE  . CAUSA 
MONUMENTUM  . CUM  . TITULO 
FACIUNDUM  . CURARUNT 
AVE  . AC  . VALE  . ANIMA  . PIENTISSIMA 
NOSTRIQUE  , MEMOR  . APUD  . DEUM  . SIES 

There  are  in  Charleston,  as  in  every  American  town,  a number 
of  church  edifices  proportioned  to  the  great  and  always  increas- 
ing number  of  religious  sects.  Some  of  these,  besides  the  syna- 
gogue above  described,  are  of  pretty,  quaint,  composite  architect- 
ure, and  very  interesting  historically : St.  Michael’s,  for  instance, 
and  St.  Philip’s.  The  former  has  a very  fine  representation  in 
stained  glass  of  the  Prince  of  the  Heavenly  Court,  but  tourists 
visit  it  as  much  or  more  for  its  antiquity,  as  things  go  with  us,  and 
to  see  how,  in  the  jearthquake  of  1886,  the  tower  settled  half  a 
foot  into  the  earth,  so  that  one  has  now  to  step  up  on  entering  the 
building.  As  the  earthquake  is  mentioned,  we  may  record  that 
many  Catholic  churches,  institutions,  and  residences  were  injured, 
and  the  Bishop,  who  has  but  eight^thousand  persons  owning  his 
authority  in  the  whole  diocese,  appealed  to  his  fellow  Catholics  in 
the  North  for  aid,  and  with  such  success  that  some  wag  sug- 
gested that  another  earthquake,  if  they  “ could  get  one  up,”  would 
bring  the  Cathedral  to  completion. 

Before  closing  this  account  of  my  visit,  it  will  interest  my 
readers  to  know,  if  they  have  never  heard  or,  having  heard,  have 
forgotten,  that  this  singular  old  town  is  the  alleged  home  of  the 
Luciferian  Cult — they  show  you  the  “ temple,”  on  the  main  street 
— and  was  publicly  proclaimed  as  such  some  years  since  by  Leo 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


514 

Taxil,  the  manager  for  “ Diana  Vaughan.”  Imagine  the  astonish- 
ment, mingled  with  amusement  and  a certain  amount  of  indigna- 
tion, of  the  local  Catholic  clergy,  when  asked  by  the  editor  of  that 
great  journal,  L Univers,  of  Paris,  whether  these  things  were  so. 
The  upshot  was  a communication,  purporting  to  have  been  sent  out 
by  the  Bishop  of  Charleston,  scouting  the  absurd  fake,  and  de- 
fending the  citizens  of  his  native  and  beloved  city  from  so  sense- 
less and  malignant  a calumny.  What  are  we  to  think*  of  those 
French  abbes  and  their  English  analogues  *who  swallowed  this 
wretched  fable,  and  wrote  extensively  in  the  French  journals,  and 
even  in  the  sober  columns  of  the  London  Tablet , defending  their 
belief  in  the  “ revelations  ” of  Taxil  ? The  denouement  was  comi- 
cal, if  also  somewhat  shameful.  Taxil  hired  a hall  in  Paris,  and 
announced  that  on  a certain  day  he  would  actually  bring  forward 
and  exhibit  the  flesh-and-blood  Priestess  of  Lucifer  to  the  hungry 
gaze  of  the  excited  abbes.  He  himself  appeared  before  the 
straining  eyes  of  the  crowded  auditory,  rehearsed  the  entire  story 
of  “ Diana  ” and  its  reception  in  different  parts  of  Christendom, 
and  at  length  declared  in  purest  Parisian  that  it  was  all  a joke,  and 
as  for  Diana  Vaughan,  “ Cest  moi-meme , Messieurs .”  ( Bruits , 

rumeursi)  Imagine  the  effect ! I do  not  recall  now  how  he  left 
the  hall,  but  France  is  not  Arizona  or  even  South  Carolina,  and 
although  there  were  many  vociferous  expressoins  of  abomination, 
detestation,  anger,  etc.,  etc.,  and  much  wielding  of  umbrellas  and 
shaking  of  hats,  it  seems  that  the  mountebank  escaped  alive. 
Still  no  doubt  many  over  there  still  cling  to  the  fable,  and  assume 
a tone  of  mystery  and  horror  when  they  hear  the  name  of 
Charleston,  a word  which  may  be  destined  to  be  a synonym  for 
Sheol  in  the  most  elegant  of  modern  languages. 

And  so  I bade  goodbye  to  this  interesting  town,  with  so  much 
that  is  unique  and  attractive  in  its  character,  as  well  as  in  the 
marked  individuality  of  its  people,  of  its  clergy,  its  buildings,  its 
situation,  and  its  history.  A town  that  recalls  one  of  those  of 
ancient  Greece  with  its  climate,  its  easy  carelessness,  its  attach- 
ment to  its  own  soil,  its  delight  in  its  heroic  past,  its  love  of 
art  and  of  letters,  its  contempt  of  Mammon.  I could  not 
help  thinking  that  if  Cardinal  Newman  had  visited  Charleston,  he 
would  find  in  the  world  of  to-day  a place  by  which  to  illustrate 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARLESTON. 


515 


his  “ Student  Life  in  Athens/’  for  I think  Charleston  an  ideal 
place  to  cultivate  the  true,  the  noble,  the  beautiful,  the  aesthetic. 
My  clerical  companion  and  host  understood  well  how  to  produce 
a pure  and  deep  and  lasting  impression,  for  he  took  me  to  walk  on 
a darksome  evening  along  the  quiet,  empty  streets ; past  the 
modest  “ shrine  of  Lucifer,”  and  the  historic  spires  of  St.  Michael ; 
under  the  shadow  of  the  yet  unfinished  cathedral ; by  the  ex- 
quisite little  lake  that,  fed  by  the  tide,  though  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  twice  each  day  is  empty  and  twice  refilled  with  fresh  and 
sparkling  water ; along  by  the  dwellings  of  the  patrician  families 
once  wealthier  than  now,  but  always  educated  and  cultured,  each 
with  a residence  quite  individual  in  style,  shape,  position,  size, 
heraldic  emblems,  gates,  walls,  verandahs,  gardens  and  surround- 
ings, but  all  showing  a taste  and  elegance  that  was  a delight  to 
see.  There  was  not  much  money  there  as  compared  with  the 
commercial  capitals  of  the  North,  but  there  were  tradition,  legiti- 
mate family  pride,  taste,  and  personal  independence.  It  was 
Athens  revived  in  America;  it  was  the  metropolis  of  historic 
South  Carolina.  Next  morning  I strolled  along  those  same 
streets  with  a student,  and  saw  here  and  there  evidences  of  lack  of 
means  or  latitudinal  carelessness  in  the  absence  of  paint,  etc.,  but 
the  Battery  was  close  by,  and  as  we  sauntered  along  its  well-kept 
paths,  enjoying  the  view  of  the  ocean,  I was  slightly  amused  at 
seeing  a great  cannon  mounted  on  the  sea-wall,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion recounting  how  this  was  “ one  of  the  guns  that  had  been  fired 
on  Fort  Sumter  at  the  opening  of  the  war  for  the  Independence  of 
the  South.”  Meanwhile,  some  clerically  attired  philosophers  of 
the  schools  of  the  Sophists  took  their  morning  constitutional 
among  the  grass-plots  and  fountains  and  statuary  of  this  lovely 
park,  even  as  many  of  the  spiritual  forebears  of  Catholic  Charles- 
ton used  to  do,  and  we  ourselves,  in  happy  youth,  amongst  the 
natural  and  artistic  beauties  of  the  Pincio. 

Edward  McSweeny. 


Mount  St.  Mary's , Maryland. 


Hnalecta. 


EX  ACTIS  SUMMI  PONTIFICIS. 

I. 

Gratulatur  Pontifex  Rectori  Collegii  Americani  Septen- 

TRIONALIS  OB  PROFECTUM  IN  STUDIIS  SACRARUM  DlS- 
CIPLINARUM. 

Dilecto  Filio  Thomae  Kennedy  Pontificiae  Domus  Antistiti 
Rectori  Urbani  Collegii  Pro  Alumnis  Foederatarum  Ame- 
ricae  Civitatum. 

PIUS  PP.  X. 

Dilecte  Fili}  salutem  et  apostolicam  benedictionem : 

Quum,  haud  ita  pridem,  te,  una  cum  Alumnis  tuo  regimini 
creditis,  admissione  Nostra  donavimus,  placuit  testari  coram  am- 
plissimis  verbis  qua  existimatione  quaque  benevolentia  Collegium 
vestrum  prosequeremur.  Et  merito  id  quidem.  Videramus 
enim,  ex  annuo  in  scholis  periculo  stataque  praemiorum  distribu- 
tione,  sic  alumnos  istos  in  disciplinarum  sacrarum  studia  incu- 
buisse  strenue,  ut  tulisse  primas  laetarentur.  Aliunde  vero  non 
ignorabamus  diligentiae  huic  in  sacris  excolendis  doctrinis  parem 


ANALECTA . 


517 


esse  et  disciplinae  servandae  constantiam  et  exercendae  pietatis 
ardorem.  Libet  igitur  iterum  per  litteras  gratulari  tibi,  qui  egregie 
Rectoris  munere  fungeris ; gratulari  simul  alumnis  omnibus,  qui 
optime  industriis  tuis  obsecundant.  Crescat,  hoc  plane  optamus 
et  ominamur,  crescat  adolescentium  numerus,  qui  ex  Americae 
foederatis  Civitatibus  hue  transmeent,  catholicam  sapientiam  in 
ipso  Fidei  centro  apud  Cathedram  Beati  Petri  Apostolorum  Prin- 
cipis  hausturi.  Equidem  ex  vestro  Collegio,  ut  multa  apud 
vestrates  in  Religionis  utilitatem  provenisse  scimus,  sic  ampliora 
in  posterum  proventura  confidimus.  Hoc  ut  eveniat,  tibi,  Di- 
lecte  Fili,  tuisque  in  Collegio  moderando  adiutoribus  nec  non 
alumnis  singulis  apostolicam  benedictionem,  caritatis  Nostrae 
pignus  et  munerum  divinorum  auspicem  amantissime  in  Domino 
impertimus. 

Datum  Romae  apud  S.  Petrum  die  XXVII  Februarii  Anno 
MDCCCCV. 

Pontificatus  Nostri  secundo. 


Pius  PP.  X. 


II. 

Pius  X Caecilianae  Societati  germanicae,  de  musica  sacra 

OPTIME  MERITAE,  GRATES  ET  HORTAMENTA  REPENDIT. 

PIUS  PP.  X. 

Dilecte  fili1  Salutem  et  Apostolicam  Benedictionem. 

Non  parum  delectati  sumus  eis  litteris  quas  tu,  dilecte  Fili, 
ceterique  istius  Societatis  Caecilianae  moderatores,  quum  in  unum 
de  more  convenissetis,  at  Nos  proxime  dedistis.  In  his  placuere 
expressa  animi  vestri  sensa  erga  Nos  grati  ob  laudes,  sane  meritas, 
quibus,  ad  Dilectum  Filium  Nostrum  Cardinalem  Archiepiscopum 
Coloniensem  rescribendo,  vos  ornavimus : in  eisdem  vero  novum 
testimonium  vestri  in  Apostolicam  Sedem  obsequii  observan- 
tiaeque  perplacuit.  Quod  ceteroqui  obsequium  quum  explora- 
tum  Nobis  sit,  non  minus  quam  vestra  et  doctrina  et 
peritia  et  sedulitas,  omnino  confidimus  fore  ut  quae  de  cantu 
gregoriano  et  de  sacro  musicae  genere  praescripsimus,  vobis  adiu- 


1 Rmo  Francisco  Xaverio  Haberl. 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


518 

toribus,  apud  vestrates  ii  omnes,  quos  optamus,  consequantur 
fructus. — Auspicem  divinorum  munerum  ac  paternae  Nostrae 
benevolentiae  testem  tibi,  dilecte  Fili,  societatique  Caecilianae 
universae  Apostolicam  benedictionem  amantissime  in  Domino 
impertimus. 

Datum  Romae  apud  S.  Petrum  die  X Novembris  anno 
MDCCCCIV,  Po.ntificatus  Nostri  secundo. 

Pius  PP.  X. 


E SACRA  CONGREGATIONE  CONCILIL 

Dispensatur  ad  triennium  ab  applicatione  missae  pro  po- 

PULO  IN  DIEBUS  FESTIS  SUPPRESSIS,  ET  PERMITTITUR  PER- 
CEPTIO  ELEEMOSYNAE  PRO  SECUNDA  MISSA,  ETC. 

Beatissime  Pater , 

Episcopus  Metensis  S.  V.  quae  sequuntur,  devotissime  exponit : 
Post  restaurationem  cultus  catholici  initio  saeculi  XIX,  ab  Epis- 
copo  Metensi  in  aedibus  conventus  quondam  Eremitarum  S. 
Augustini  in  oppido  Bitensi  (vulgo  Bitsch  nuncupato)  consentiente 
Municipio  loci,  cui  post  spoliationem  rerum  sacrarum  in  Gallia 
proprietas  dicti  conventus  attributa  fuerat,  instauratum  est  pium 
Institutum  a S.  Augustino  nuncupatum,  ad  informandos  litteris  et 
pietate  pueros  qui  clericali  militiae  nomen  dare  intendebant.  Lapsu 
vero  temporis  vetustate  collabuntur  aedes  conventus  S.  Augustini, 
quin  ab  Episcopo  potuerint  refici,  cum  sint  proprietas  Municipii, 
et  insuper  propter  vetustatem  vix  opportune  refici  queant.  Gu- 
bernium  etiam  civile  iterum  atque  iterum  ab  Episcopo  petivit,  ut 
nova  domus  aedificaretur  Instituti  necessitatibus  et  scholarum  usui 
magis  accommodata.  Episcopus  igitur  necessitate  coactus,  statuit 
in  territorio  eiusdem  oppidi  novam  ex  toto  aedem  erigere,  quae 
omnino  respondeat  scopo  Instituti.  Huius  autem  domus  aedifi- 
candae  impensae  computantur  ad  fere  800,000  francorum  sum- 
mam,  quibus  solvendis  aerarium  dioecesanum  omnino  impar  est. 
Porro  eum  in  finem  intendit  Orator  Episcopus  annuam  collectam 
in  sua  Dioecesi  indicere  et  sperat  fore  ut  fideles  libenter  ad  iuvenes 
clericos  informandos  pecuniam  conferant. 

Ulterius  autem  a S.  V.  postulat  ut  sibi  facultas  concedatur, 


ANALECTA. 


519 


qua  Parochis  et  caeteris  sacerdotibus  Dioecesis  concessio  fiat:  (1) 
accipiendi  stipendium  pro  secunda  missa,  quam  diebus  dominicis 
et  festis  pro  necessitate  populi  plures  sacerdotes  celebrant;  (2) 
accipiendi  stipendium  et  applicandi  missam  ad  intentionem  offer- 
entis  diebus  festis  suppressis,  loco  applicationis  missae  pro  populo , 
cum  onere  in  utroque  casu  integrum  stipendium  sic  acceptum  sive 
missae  lectae  sive  missae  cantatae  transmittendi  ad  Episcopum 
pro  reaedificando  praefato  pio  Instituto,  retentis  solummodo  si  quae 
sint  iuribus  casualibus  seu  parochialibus,  simulque  supplicat  ut  S. 
V.  de  thesauro  Ecclesia  supplere  dignetur  pro  missis  pro  populo 
sic  non  applicatis. 

Die  1 1 Novembris  1904,  Sacra  Congregatio  Cone.  Tridentini 
Interpres,  auctoritate  SS.mi  Domini  Nostri  Pii  PP.  X,  attends 
expositis  licentiam  dispensandi  parochos  ab  applicatione  missae 
pro  populo  in  diebus  festis  suppressis,  ad  efifectum  de  quo  in  preci- 
bus,  nec  non  licentiam  permittendi  perceptionem  eleemosynae 
secundae  missae,  ut  integra  erogetur  ad  eumdem  finem,  Episcopo 
Metensi  Oratori  benigne  ad  triennium  tantum  impertita  est. 

t Vincentius,  Card.  Ep . Praenest .,  Praef. 


Studies  and  Conferences. 


OUR  ANALECTA. 

The  Roman  documents  for  the  month  are : 

Letters  of  Pope  Pius  X : (i)  To  the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor 
Thomas  F.  Kennedy,  D.D.,  Rector  of  the  American  College, 
Rome,  congratulating  him  on  the  proficiency  of  the  students  of 
the  College ; (2)  To  the  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Haberl,  commend- 
ing the  German  Cecilian  Society’s  work  for  the  cultivation  and 
spread  of  approved  Church  music. 

S.  Congregation  of  the  Council  gives  to  the  Bishop  of 
Metz  (Alsace-Lorraine)  for  three  years  the  faculty  of  dispensing 
the  pastors  of  his  diocese  from  the  application  of  the  Mass  pro 
populo  on  abrogated  feast-days,  as  well  as  permission  to  allow  the 
acceptance  of  a stipend  for  the  second  Mass.  Besides  limiting 
the  privilege  to  three  years,  the  S.  Congregation  lays  stress  on 
the  condition  under  which  the  faculty  is  granted, — namely,  that 
the  funds  are  to  be  applied  to  the  building  of  a theological 
seminary. 

THE  BOYS’  CHOIR. 

Editor  ^The  Ecclesiastical  Review  : 

I have  read  with  considerable  interest  the  admirable  papers  on 
Chancel  Choirs  by  Professor  Finn  and  Mr.  O’Brien,  in  the  March  and 
April  numbers  of  the  Review.  May  I be  permitted  to  say  a few 
words  concerning  the  work  which  is  being  done  at  St.  Vincent’s  in 
Boston  ? 

We  have  a splendid  organization  of  fifty  boys  and  men.  In  our 
practices  we  say  little  or  nothing  about  registers.  We  have  found 
from  experience  that  by  having  the  boys  sing  softly  all  the  time  in 
their  vocalizes  the  * 4 break  ” in  the  voice  disappears  very  soon.  The 
best  authorities  seem  to  incline  to  the  doctrine  that  the  head  voice 
should  be  carried  as  low  as  possible,  and  the  lower  the  better ; and  if 
it  can  be  carried  downward  through  the  entire  compass  of  the  voice, 
the  result  is  most  effective,  as  has  been  amply  proved  at  St.  Vincent’s. 

Our  boys  have  become  so  proficient  in  the  production  of  the  head 


STUDIES  AND  CONFERENCES. 


521 


voice  that  a clear,  round  tone  is  easily  produced  on  A flat  above  the 
staff,  and  it  is  only  a question  of  a few  months’  additional  practice 
when  they  will  be  able  to  take  a “high  C.”  While  the  average 
chancel  or  sanctuary  choir  must  either  lower  the  pitch  of  the  music, 
or  at  least  confine  the  compass  of  the  music  to  the  limits  of  the  five 
lines  of  the  staff,  we  are  able,  at  St.  Vincent’s,  through  our  frequent 
and  persistent  practices  on  head  tones,  to  increase  the  brilliancy  of 
our  music  by  pitching  certain  tunes  from  one  to  two  tones  higher  than 
written.  As  an  instance  of  this,  I may  mention  that  the  two  pro- 
cessionals we  have  prepared  for  Easter  are  written  in  G,  but  we  have 
transposed  them  to  B flat,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they 
are  to  be  sung,  as  all  our  music  is,  a capella. 

I do  not  speak  of  these  things  in  the  spirit  of  egotism,  but  only  to 
emphasize  that  what  we  have  done  can  be  done  in  any  city  parish, 
and  in  most  country  parishes.  There  must,  however,  be  an  intense 
interest  in  the  work  on  the  part  of  the  choir,  choirmaster,  and  pastor. 
The  results  at  St.  Vincent’s  could  never  have  been  obtained  without 
the  inspiring  and  indefatigable  interest  of  our  pastor,  the  Rev.  George 
J.  Patterson. 

Fully  ninety  per  cent. , I should  say,  of  the  average  boys  in  our 
Catholic  schools  are  susceptible  to  the  scientific  training  of  the  voice, 
provided  they  have  a true,  musical  ear. 

Apropos  of  the  exclusive  use  of  head  tones,  and  of  their  effect  upon 
the  brilliancy  of  the  music,  I would  say  that  the  New  York  City 
St.John’s  Chapel  (Episcopal),  where  the  head  voice  is  used  entirely, 
has  had  for  many  years  one  of  the  very  best  and  most  noted  of  the 
many  splendid  “boy”  choirs  in  that  city.  The  singing  of  Mr. 
Le  Jeune’s  boys — and  I have  heard  them  many  times  during  the  past 
two  decades — cannot  be  criticised  for  lack  of  brilliancy.  Writing  on 
this  subject,  Mr.  G.  Edward  Stubbs,  organist  and  choirmaster  01 
St.  Agnes’  Chapel  (Episcopal),  New  York  City,  says  : “A  more  fatal 
mistake  cannot  be  made  than  that  of  strengthening  the  lower  notes  by 
the  retention  of  more  or  less  ‘ thick  ’ (chest)  quality.  The  ‘ break  ’ 
should  not  be  merely  smoothed,  modified,  or  lessened — it  should  be 
eradicated.  This  cannot  be  accomplished  by  any  compromise  system 
of  training  which  aims  at  securing  the  purity  of  the  upper  register  and 
the  reedy  timbre  of  the  lower.  ’ ’ 

I am  familiar  with  the  Gregorian  Chant,  having  made  a study  of  it 
for  years,  but  I am  not  aware  that  it  presents  any  difficulty  of  rendi- 
tion to  the  boy  voice  trained  entirely  in  the  head  register.  The 


522 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW, 


advantage  of  the  head  quality  throughout  the  entire  compass  of  the 
voice  is  that  of  securing  that  beautifully  soft  effect  so  much  desired  in 
the  boy  voice,  and  that  devotional  quality  which  tends  to  give  to  the 
music  of  the  Church  the  sursum  corda  character,  which  all  choir- 
masters should  ever  strive  for. 

I cannot  agree  with  my  friend,  Mr.  O’Brien,  in  regard  to  the 
necessity  of  embodying  organist  and  choirmaster  in  one  man.  Mr. 
O’Brien  says  that  there  are  “ subtle  ways  which,  indeed,  he  (the 
organist)  cannot  explain  himself,  but  by  which  with  his  fingers  on  the 
keys  he  can  so  wield  his  singers  as  to  produce  any  desired  impression 
upon  their  minds.”  If  the  music  has  been  prepared  with  proper 
care  and  constant  practice,  the  desired  impression  will  be  indelibly 
fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  youthful  choristers  long  before  they  take  their 
places  in  the  choir  stalls. 

And  further  : “In  these  day  of  opportunity  for  the  able  organist 
he  should  not  be  content  to  be  merely  a mechanical  automaton  while 
the  choirmaster  holds  the  authority  and  represents  the  greater  brains  of 
the  combination.”  The  average  Catholic  organist  needs  a strong  arm 
over  him  to  keep  him  from  “ drowning  ” the  singers.  I have  in  mind 
a “boy”  choir  which  I heard  recently  in  a Catholic  church,  where 
the  little  fellows  were  made  to  shout  themselves  hoarse  so  that, 
apparently,  the  organist  might  have  ample  opportunity  and  full  scope 
to  show  off  the  “ loud  ” effects  of  the  really  magnificent  organ  over 
which  he  presided.  In  this  choir,  the  boys’  voices  trembled  on  an  F 
(fifth  line),  and  the  chanting  was  one  long  execrable  shout. 

At  the  Westminster  Cathedral,  in  London,  the  organ  is  subordi- 
nated to  the  singing,  and  the  a capella  is  used  a great  deal.  I think 
an  ideal  chancel  choir  would  be  one  where  the  processional,  reces- 
sional, and  Proper  were  sung  a capella , and  the  Ordinary  with  modi- 
fied organ  accompaniment. 

I hope  I have  not  intruded  too  much  upon  your  valuable  space.  I 
wish  you  could  hear  all  of  the  many  words  of  praise  the  articles  you 
have  already  printed  have  called  forth  in  this  neighborhood. 

Albert  Barnes  Meyers, 
Choirmaster , St.  Vincent' s Sanctuary  Choir. 

Roxbury , Mass. 

ORATION  OR  PRAYER? 

Qu.  I have  read  many  pages  of  the  Review  or  years,  and  there 
is  one  word  which  you  use  so  constantly  that  I feel  called  on  to  ask 


STUDIES  AND  CONFERENCES. 


523 


your  attention  to  its  use.  “ Oration  ” is  the  word  used,  instead  of  the 
good  word  “ prayer.” 

According  to  my  dictionary,  “oration”  means  a carefully  pre- 
pared and  delived  discourse.  If  it  ever  means  a prayer,  I do  not  find 
such  a meaning  for  the  word.  “The  Prayers,  The  Secrets,  and  The 
Last  Prayers  ’ ’ are  good  transliterations  of  Orationes , Secreta , et  Post- 
communiones , — at  least,  I think  so.  May  I ask  you  kindly  not  to  give 
your  readers  any  more  “ English  as  she  is  wrote,”  with  “ Orations  ” 
as  an  example  ? 

Arthur  M.  Clark. 

Resp.  We  shall  have  to  get  a new  dictionary.  The  Century , 
we  had  thought,  was  up  to  date.  It  says  : Oration  : (1)  A formal 
speech,  discourse,  etc. ; (2)  A prayer,  supplication,  petition  (quotes 
an  illustration  from  Sir  P.  Sidney). 

But  even  with  such  refurbishing  of  our  ancientness,  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  we  shan’t  change  our  benighted  ways ; the  habit  is 
too  strong.  Furthermore,  while  it  may  be  admitted  that  the  use 
of  oration  in  the  sense  of  prayer  is  somewhat  obsolete  in  the 
modern  parlor,  it  is  not  so  in  ecclesiastical  circles.  For  the  cleric 
it  has  a special  significance,  denoting  the  liturgical  prayer  as 
distinct  from  the  prayer  of  supplication.  This  fact  would  be 
properly  emphasized  in  a good  dictionary,  if,  as  it  should,  it  took 
account  of  Catholic  usage,  since  usage  need  not  be  universal  in 
order  to  become  the  law  of  language. 

If  our  literary  dictionary  makers  occasionally  omit  to  honor 
ecclesiastical  terminology,  or  declare  it  obsolete,  the  practice  is 
an  outcome  of  that  silent  conspiracy  which  ignores  Catholic 
claims  in  literature  no  less  than  in  history  and  statecraft.  Strangely 
enough,  we  will  find  that  Anglican  ecclesiastical  terminology  is 
often  recognized  where  it  suits  the  English  High  Church  to  retain 
the  old  terms  of  the  Roman  liturgy.  Thus,  touching  this  very 
word  “ oration,”  we  find  in  Storemonth’s  Dictionary  of  the  Eng- 
lish Language , revised  by  Phelp,  in  accordance  with  the  author- 
ity of  Professor  Skeat,  of  Cambridge,  and  the  late  Max  Muller, 
of  Oxford,  that  under  its  mention  of  preces  it  treats  orationes 
(pronounced  orashiones)  as  an  English  word,  and  defines  it  as 
“petitions  said  by  the  priest  alone,  the  people  answering  only 
‘ Amen.’  ” 


524 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


THE  STIPEND  F OR  FUNEEAL  MASSES. 

Qu.  In  the  August  number  of  the  Review  (1904),  you  gave  the 
text  of  the  decree  De  Observandis  et  Evitandis  in  Missarum  Manic - 
alium  Satisfactions . If  I read  aright,  it  seems  to  be  the  intention  of 
the  Sacred  Congregation  to  have  this  decree  observed  in  toto. 

Now,  in  our  diocese  there  exists  a custom,  of  some  years’  standing, 
to  take  five  or  ten  dollars,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  a funeral  Mass ; to 
have  one  of  the  assistant  priests  celebrate  the  Mass,  give  him  one  dol- 
lar, whilst  the  pastor  retains  the  balance,  or  gives  a portion  to  the 
church.  As  pastor  of  a parish  with  assistants  I now  want  to  know 
whether  such  a custom  may  still  be  followed  in  face  of  what  is  con- 
tained in  Article  IX  of  the  decree  ; or  would  the  censures  enumerated 
in  article  XII  be  incurred  by  the  adherents  of  such  a custom. 

I may  add  that  it  has  been  explained  to  the  faithful  that  the  five 
or  ten  dollars  is  the  stipend  for  the  Mass  in  question. 

Resp.  The  decree  referred  to  speaks  of  the  stipendium  manuals 
which  goes  with  the  ordinary  intention  of  the  Mass  as  fixed  by 
diocesan  statute  or  general  custom.  This  stipend  is  distinct  from 
the  taxa  or  perquisite  allowed  for  parochial  functions,  such  as 
funerals,  marriages,  etc.,  in  which  Mass  is  as  a rule  celebrated. 
The  division  of  the  stipend  (in  form  of  parochial  perquisite) 
depends  upon  the  diocesan  authorities  and  is  regulated  in  various 
ways  according  to  local  conditions.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
whole  amount  offered  by  the  donor  who  engages  the  service 
should  go  to  the  celebrant  of  the  Mass,  but  there  ought  to  be  a 
uniform  and  recognized  law  of  apportionment  on  an  equitable 
basis  sanctioned  by  the  Ordinary  or  Synod,  and  embodied  in  the 
Statuta  Dioecesana. 

CATHOLIC  SPONSORS  AT  PROTESTANT  BAPTISMS. 

In  a review  of  Noldin’s  Theologia  Moralis  (Ecclesiastical  Review 
for  April,  page  434),  it  was  incidentally  stated  that  neither  Konings 
nor  Sabetti  discusses  the  question  which  is  of  much  importance  in  mis- 
sionary countries,  namely,  whether  Catholics  may  lawfully  act  as  spon- 
sors to  children  when  baptized  by  a Protestant  minister.  A corre- 
spondent writes  to  us  to  point  out  that  the  above-mentioned  authors,  in 
the  Tract  De  Fide , refer  to  the  Decree  of  the  Holy  Office  prohibiting 
such  practice.  We  hope  to  deal  with  the  subject  in  detail  at  a more 
opportune  time,  since  lack  of  space  forbids  here. 


STUDIES  AND  CONFERENCES . 


525 


MASS  FOR  DECEASED  PROTESTANTS. 

Qu.  Would  you  in  the  issue  of  the  Review  for  May,  kindly  reply 
to  these  queries  of  a subscriber  ? 

1.  Can  Mass  be  said  for  a deceased  Protestant  ? 

2.  Can  a person  presumably  a Protestant,  such,  e.g.,  as  the  late 
Queen  of  England,  obtain  the  Sacraments  of  Penance  and  Holy 
Eucharist,  once  a year,  by  going  to  a church  outside  the  district,  for 
extraordinary  reasons,  in  order  to  belong  to  the  soul  of  the  Church  ? 

The  report,  assumed  by  some  to  be  founded  on  fact,  was  that 
Queen  Victoria  made  a visit  each  year  to  France,  to  comply  with  the 
obligations  of  Holy  Church,  belonging,  therefore,  to  the  Church, 
though  in  her  official  capacity  not  manifesting  it  in  England. 

Resp.  Mass  as  an  act  of  simple  intercession  may  be  offered 
for  any  person,  living  or  dead,  who  is  not  known  to  be  beyond 
the  pale  of  Gods,  redeeming  mercy.  Unless  we  have  a sure  reve- 
lation— which  no  one  has  a right  to  claim  for  himself — we  may 
not  assume  of  any  person,  Protestant  or  infidel  included,  that  at 
their  dying  moment  the  redeeming  grace  of  Christ  through  a 
silent  act  of  repentance  was  denied  them.  Therefore  we  are  free 
to  believe  that  intercessory  prayer  and  the  Mass  will  benefit  them. 

But  while  we  are  at  liberty  to  assume  this  for  ourselves  and 
offer  our  prayers  or  the  Mass  in  their  behalf,  we  may  not  call 
upon  the  Church  in  her  solemn  or  public  function  to  attest  this 
assumption  or  belief  in  the  case  of  a person  who  outwardly  gave 
testimony  that  he  or  she  did  not  belong  to  the  Church,  whatever 
the  inward  disposition,  of  which  God  alone  judges,  may  have  been. 
For  the  Church  is  a visible  communion  standing  for  the  external 
profession  of  faith ; and  as  she  solemnizes  Mass  for  those  who 
belong  to  her  outward  communion,  although  they  may  be  faithless 
at  heart,  so  she  excludes  from  her  public  solemnities  those  who 
do  not  belong  to  her  outward  communion,  although  they  may  die 
in  God’s  pleasure,  not  having  known  the  Catholic  truth.  Hence 
the  celebration  of  solemn  Mass  is  not  allowed  in  the  latter  case, 
for  that  celebration  is  more  than  an  intercessory  act : it  is  a public 
profession  that  the  deceased  was  in  union  with  the  outward  com- 
munion of  the  Church  militant. 

As  to  the  supposed  action  of  Queen  Victoria,  we  must  con- 
fess that  the  hypothesis  seems  to  us  wholly  unlikely.  It  might 


526 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


indeed  be  admitted  that  circumstances  involving  the  peace  of  a 
great  nation  and  the  temporal  rights  of  those  dependent  upon  her 
position  as  Queen  of  England,  would  justify  her  in  not  making  a 
public  profession  of  faith  by  which  she  would  have  forfeited  the 
throne  and  probably  created  revolution,  and  increased  antagonism 
to  the  Catholic  subjects  of  the  realm ; but  no  such  reason  could 
have  permitted  her  to  profess  at  the  same  time  the  Protestant  faith 
by  outward  acts  of  adherence  to  the  National  Church,  such  as  we 
fancy  are  required  from  an  English  sovereign.  That  would  be, 
not  merely  to  dissemble  the  truth  for  the  sake  of  charity,  but  to 
simulate  falsehood  for  the  sake  of  an  earthly  prerogative,  which 
is  never  lawful  for  king  or  for  beggar. 


EMBLEMS  OE  MOURNING!  AT  FUNERAL  MASSES. 

Qu.  Be  pleased  to  state  in  the  Review  what  emblems  of  mourn- 
ing may  be  used  on  the  altar  at  a funeral  Mass. 

Resp.  The  Caeremoniale  Episcoporum  (Lib.  II,  cap.  xi)  states 
that  the  altar  at  funeral  celebrations  is  to  be  without  ornaments  of 
any  kind,  except  the  crucifix  and  six  candlesticks.  The  cloths 
used  for  covering,  and  on  the  altar  floor,  are  to  be  black  (unless 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  in  the  tabernacle,  in  which  case  the  latter 
is  shrouded  in  purple),  but  there  are  to  be  no  images  of  the  dead, 
skulls,  or  white  crosses. 


FEDERATION  OF  CATHOLIC  SOCIETIES. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Ecclesiastical  Review  : 

The  article  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Heuser  in  the  February  number  covers 
the  point  which  needed  just  the  explanation  and  lucid  recommenda- 
tion it  gives, — that  is,  the  position  of  the  clergy  toward  Federation. 

In  reading  the  report  of  the  Fiftieth  Katholikentag  held  in 
Cologne,  Germany,  I find  that  some  of  the  speakers  there  touched 
upon  the  origin  and  accomplishments  of  the  fifty  years  of  Catholic 
organization  in  Germany.  Right  here  I desire  to  state  that  in  one 
respect  conditions  in  Germany  were  similar  to  ours,  namely,  the 
nationality  question.  In  Germany  they  had  Bavarians,  Prussians, 
Wiirtembergers,  Westphalians,  and  the  rest, — each  with  their  own 


STUDIES  AND  CONFERENCES. 


52  7 


peculiar  viewpoint,  and  each  possessed  of  prejudices  just  as  great  as  we 
must  contend  with  here  between  the  Poles,  Bohemians,  Germans, 
Irish,  Italians,  etc.  This  same  problem  seemed  as  great  an  obstacle 
in  the  beginning  of  Federation  in  Germany  as  it  does  to  us  now. 

It  should  be  said  that  that  organization  was  not  begun  when  abso- 
lute self-preservation  demanded  it.  Long  before  the  Kulturkampf 
began,  effort  and  labor  had  for  years  been  spent  in  organizing,  thereby 
bringing  the  different  people  (laymen  and  clergy)  together. 

The  history  of  this  movement  in  Germany  shows  that  it  had  a 
humble  start,  and  met  with  opposition,  based  usually,  even  practically 
without  exception,  on  reasons  advanced  by  men  who  had  not  given 
the  movement  study  or  who  were  faint  of  heart  and  doubted  its  accom- 
plishing its  aims.  The  opposition  that  Federation  meets  here  is  the 
same,  and  remarkable  to  a degree  is  the  fact  that,  wherever  Federation 
is  given  a hearing  and  explained,  clergy  and  laity  have  at  once 
responded. 

Now,  some  one  may  say,  “ But  over  there  the  Catholics  were  able 
to  go  into  practical  politics  owing  to  their  numerical  strength.  ’ ’ True, 
yet  no  one  will  contend  that,  if  there  had  not  been  organization,  the 
Centru?n  could  have  arisen  and  grown  in  power.  For  if  this  conten- 
tion is  tenable,  why  is  France  in  such  a pitiable  position  to-day?  No 
organization  had,  to  say  the  least,  accomplished  this  much  in  Germany 
when  the  Kulturkampf  came : first,  the  hierarchy,  clergy,  and  laity 
were  not  strangers  to  each  other,  having  met  in  convention  year  after 
year ; secondly,  knowing  each  other,  men  fit  for  leadership  were 
known  to  laymen  and  clergy ; and  third,  laymen  and  clergy  had  faith 
in  those  leaders,  thus  producing  Reichensperger,  Mallinckrodt,  Wind- 
horst, Lieber,  Moufang,  et  al.  I have  no  doubt  that  there  are  in 
France  to-day  men  as  fearless  and  as  able  as  these  German  leaders 
just  mentioned,  if  they  were  known.  Unity  of  mind,  intent  and  pur- 
pose, which  can  only  be  brought  about  by  Federation,  is  unhappily 
lacking. 

All  who  are  actively  interested  in  Federation  and  comprehend  its 
possibilities  know  only  too  well  that  we  are  still  in  a formative  condi- 
tion. In  a conversation  with  Archbishop  Quigley  the  ideal  Federation 
was  outlined  by  him  to  be  not  a Federation  of  Catholic  societies,  but 
a Federation  of  Catholic  parishes  where  every  member  of  the  parish 
will  be  a member  of  the  Federation.  This  is  my  conception  of  an 
actual  Federation.  However,  until  that  time  comes,  it  were  folly  not 
to  make  use  of  the  material  we  have,  namely,  our  societies ; hence  the 


528 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


need  of  the  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies  until  we  have  a Federa- 
tion of  Catholics,  or,  better,  a “Catholic  Federation.” 

The  desire  of  the  Detroit  Convention  to  have  parish  and  diocesan 
representation  together  with  representation  from  the  united  societies  at 
the  present  time  is  a step  leading  to  this  end. 

And,  lest  it  be  forgotten,  permit  me  to  say  that  Federation  is  an 
attempt  to  comply  with  the  repeated  pleas  for  active  cooperation  on 
the  part  of  laymen,  uttered  by  leading  prelates  and  priests  for  years 
from  the  pulpit  and  in  the  Catholic  press.  It  is  in  line  with  the  wish 
of  the  late  Holy  Father,  Leo  XIII,  surely  a sound  authority  and  a 
sufficient  endorsement  for  its  organizers.  That  the  men  who  have 
launched  Federation  were  forced  to  labor  so  hard  and  have  only 
through  brave,  persistent  and  patient  effort  up  to  the  present  effected 
but  a beginning,  is  due  largely  to  the  indifference  of  our  clergy.  Some 
of  them  to-day  are  under  the  impression  that  Federation  is  a new 
society.  If  they  would  only  spend  a little  time  and  effort  they  would 
soon  discover  that  Federation  is  not  a new  society ; that  it  is  simply 
the  forum  upon  which  all  Catholic  societies  and  parishes  can  assemble 
to  learn  one  from  the  other ; that  it  is  a means  to  weld  together  all 
Catholic  societies  and  parishes  into  one  grand  Catholic  union,  broad, 
active,  and  solid. 

We  need  the  clergy  in  this  movement,  not  primarily  to  hold  the 
offices,  but  to  assist  and  aid  by  counsel  and  example.  The  fact  that 
our  advisory  board  is  composed  of  members  of  our  Hierarchy  proves 
that  the  movement  is  conservative  to  a degree.  Because  priests  take 
an  active  interest  in  its  affairs,  it  does  not  follow  that  Federation  is 
not  a layman’s  organization.  The  late  Holy  Father  wisely  said  that 
this  age  will  be  that  of  a lay  apostolate,  therefore  I have  no  fear  that 
the  priests  by  reason  of  their  position  will  even  attempt  to  take  the 
leadership  in  their  hands. 

Because  of  the  spirit  formerly  existing  (mentioned  by  Dr.  Heuser) 
which  created  the  feeling  among  the  clergy  of  restraining,  in  some 
instances  of  refusing  to  permit,  lay  influence  in  matters  which  affect 
the  Church,  it  is  desired  that  they  come  into  the  Federation,  where 
they  will  discover  laymen  able  and  prepared  to  do  work  which  is 
necessary.  Further,  they  will  learn  that  there  are  laymen  who  desire 
the  welfare  of  the  Church  actuated  by  pure  and  disinterested  motives. 

Finally,  the  example  that  the  clergy  can  give  us  laymen  by  obliter- 
ating racial  and  national  lines  among  themselves  is  inestimable.  It 
assists  in  removing  the  prejudices  based  on  misunderstandings  among 


STUDIES  AND  CONFERENCES. 


529 


the  laymen,  and,  last  but  not  least,  gives  encouragement  and  strength 
to  the  laymen  who  have  overcome  and  progressed  beyond  these  lines. 

When  the  Kulturkampf  had  run  its  course  and  self-preservation  no 
longer  demanded  Catholic  organization,  the  Germans  did  not  rest  on 
their  oars  ; they  continued  to  improve  and  increase  their  organization. 

They  are  to-day  just  as  active  as  during  the  ’seventies,  and  more 
enthusiastic  than  ever.  There  the  clergy  play  an  important  part,  and 
because  the  priest  is  the  father  of  his  parish  it  is  natural  that  he  must 
be  interested  or  his  people  will  be  apathetic.  This  fact  is  known  and 
recognized  in  Germany,  and  not  sufficiently  known  and  recognized  in 
America.  Therefore  Dr.  Heuser’s  article  is  most  valuable — it  shows  a 
thorough  understanding  of  conditions,  and  its  counsel  is  golden.  We 
all  thank  him  for  it  most  heartily. 

M.  F.  Girten, 

President , Cook  County , Illinois  Federation. 


Chicago , III. 


ecclesiastical  Library  ‘Cable. 

RECENT  BIBLE  STUDY. 

I.  Exploration  and  Discovery. — The  recent  items  connected 
with  exploration  and  discovery  may  be  classified  under  three 
heads : 

1.  Dr.  Peters  and  Professor  Hilprecht. — When  these  lines  reach 
the  reader  he  will  no  doubt  be  fully  acquainted  with  the  issue  of 
the  amicable  entanglement  between  Dr.  Peters  and  Professor  Hil- 
precht which  has  startled  the  world  during  the  latter  winter  months. 
In  1900  Professor  Hilprecht  was  Director  of  the  expedition  to 
Nippur  undertaken  under  the  auspices  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  claimed  to  have  discovered  a large  temple  library 
among  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city.  But  for  the  period  of  the 
past  five  years  he  has  not  published  a single  specimen  of  its  con- 
tents. He  did  describe,  however,  two  tablets  in  an  American 
publication,  and  two  more  in  a German  work,  which  he  represented 
as  belonging  to  the  temple  library.  Dr.  Peters  took  exception  to 
this  claim.  He  maintained  that  the  former  two  tablets  had  been 
purchased  under  his  own  directorship  some  eleven  years  before 
the  alleged  discovery  of  the  temple  library,  and  that  they  did  not 
come  from  Nippur  at  all.  Furthermore  he  maintained  that  the 
second  pair  of  tablets  had  also  been  either  purchased  or  found  under 
his  own  leadership  of  the  expedition  about  ten  years  before  Professor 
Hilprecht’s  alleged  discovery.  What  wonder  then  that  the  world 
of  specialists  began  to  doubt  the  existence,  or  at  least  the  discov- 
ery, of  the  temple  library  ? The  collection  unearthed  by  Profes- 
sor Hilprecht  might  well  be  a room  of  tablets  containing  business 
transactions ; and  the  name  of  such  tablets  is  legion.  It  would  be 
unfair  to  pronounce  at  this  early  date  either  in  favor  of  or  against 
either  side  of  the  entangled  parties.  The  occurrence  shows,  how- 
ever, that  the  work  of  even  the  most  prominent  of  our  scholars 
is  closely  watched  by  their  competitors.  Mere  theories  may  be 
false  and  maintain  their  field  for  many  years ; errors  of  fact  are 
soon  brought  to  light. 


RECENT  BIBLE  STUD  Y. 


531 


2.  Old  Testament  Material. — Ira  Maurice  Price  gave  us  last 
year  a most  interesting  account  of  the  results  of  the  French  exca- 
vations in  Persia,  Babylonia,  Northern  Africa,  and  Egypt.1  The 
sketch  is  too  brief,  however,  to  be  really  useful.  Fr.  V.  Scheil  gave  a 
more  satisfactory  account  of  the  “ Excavations  made  by  the  French 
in  Susa  and  Babylonia,  1902-1903/’  in  an  article  contributed  to  the 
Biblical  World ? The  author  writes  with  equal  interest  and  author- 
ity ; does  he  not  describe  what  goes  on  under  his  own  eyes  ? 
“ The  recent  finds,”  we  are  told,  “ have  in  fact  furnished  more  than 
two  hundred  pieces  of  unknown  writing  having  apparently  no 
connection  with  the  already  known  Babylonian  system  of  writing. 
We  are  concerned  in  these  with  signs  chiefly  geometrical,  orig- 
inally such  or  having  become  such  from  the  use  of  clay,  as  it 
happened  in  the  case  of  Babylonian  hieroglyphics.  In  spite  of 
the  great  antiquity  which  these  new  finds  reveal,  they  reveal  to 
us  the  end  of  an  evolution  of  numberless  years.”  The  Elamitic 
inscriptions  betray  a hoary  antiquity  indeed ; and  still  Fr.  Scheil 
believes  that  Elam  has  borrowed  from  Chaldea. 

Robert  Francis  Harper  is  the  Director  of  the  Expedition  of 
the  Exploration  Fund  of  the  University  of  Chicago.  The  work 
is  carried  on  in  Bismya  under  Dr.  Edgar  J.  Banks  as  Field  Direc- 
tor. Bismya  is  a very  large  ruin,  only  Nippur,  Warka,  and  per- 
haps Babylon  surpassing  it  in  extent.  Its  height  does  not  exceed 
twelve  metres,  but  it  is  considerably  higher  than  Telloh,  Fara, 
and  other  ruins  where  excavations  have  been  successfully  made. 
The  finds  have  been  quite  satisfactory,  though  not  extraordinary 
either  in  extent  or  contents.  An  interesting  account  of  the  whole 
enterprise  has  been  contributed  by  Robert  Francis  Harper  to  the 
American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages  and  Literatures 3 and  to 
the  Biblical  World ; 4 the  writer  gives  the  report  of  Dr.  E.  J.  Banks. 
— Excavations  in  Syria  and  Palestine  have  not  been  neglected. 
L.  Jalabert  contributes  to  Al-MasriL5  a running  report  concerning 
the  more  important  finds,  entitled  “ Bulletin  of  Recent  Archaeolo- 
gical Discoveries  in  Syria.”  Some  of  the  results  of  Phoenician 

1 The  French  in  the  Orient,  Biblical  World , xxiii,  229  f. 

2 xxiv,  146  ff. 

3 xx.  207  f.,  260-268  ; 271-276. 

4 xxiii,  449-451  I 489-496;  xxiv,  61-69;  137-146  ; 216-223. 

5 1904,  180-187;  225-230;  272-276. 


532 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 

exploration  have,  been  published  by  Th.  Macridy  in  the  Revue 
biblique 6,  and  by  Clermont  Ganneau  in  the  Recueil  d'arch.  orient J 
— E.  Sellin  has  published  a little  work  entitled  Tell  Talannek 8 to 
which  F.  Hrozny  has  added  an  Appendix  on  the  cuneiform  texts 
of  Taannek.  The  same  subject  has  been  treated  by  Prof.  A.  H- 
Sayce  in  a review  of  the  foregoing  work,  entitled  “ Discoveries  in 
Palestine.” 9 It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  reviewer  should  differ 
from  Sellin  in  several  particulars,  *■.,  in  the  age  of  the  texts,  and 
the  translation  of  the  second  tablet.— The  Academe  des  Inscrip- 
tions et  Belles-Lettres  had  explorations  made  in  Abdeh,  a report  of 
which  is  given  in  the  Revue  bibliqueP — Meanwhile,  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund  continued  its  excavations  of  Gezer  and  also  its 
reports  of  the  work  accomplished.  The  seventh  report  covers  the 
period  from  November,  1 6,  1903,  to  February  28,  1904  ; the  eighth 
report  deals  with  the  work  done  between  March  1 and  May  31, 
1904.11  The  most  remarkable  find  is  a cuneiform  tablet  picked 
up  in  a stratum  belonging  to  the  period  of  the  early  kings  of 
Israel.  The  tablet  has  been  the  subject  of  special  studies  contrib- 
uted to  the  reports  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  by  T.  G. 
Pinches,  A.  H.  Sayce,  and  C.  H.  W.  Johns.12  Macalister’s  reports 
of  the  Gezer  excavations  have  been  supplemented  by  W.  M.  F- 
Petrie  with  a series  of  instructive  remarks.13— A Hebrew  seal  has 
been  found  at  Tell  al-Moutasallim  which  has  excited  a great  deal 
of  interest  on  account  of  the  inscription  it  bears.  The  name  Jero- 
boam seems  to  form  part  of  the  legend  without  any  doubt ; but 
this  does  not  remove  all  doubt  as  to  its  ownership.  While  some 
students  are  enthusiastic  enough  to  assign  it  to  Solomon’s  son,14 
others  more  cautiously  connect  it  with  an  officer  of  Jeroboam  ID5 

6 N.  S.  i,  390-403. 

7 v>  373-378 ; cf.  Revue  biblique , N.  S.  i,  316. 

» Bericht  ubereine  Ausgrabung  in  Palestina  ; Wien,  1904,  Gerold ; 4to,  pp.  121. 

9 Expository  Times , xv,  555-558. 

10  N.  S.  i,  403-424. 

11  xxxvi,  107-127;  194-228. 

12  xxxvi,  229-236  ; 236-237  ; 237-244. 

13  Palest.  Explor.  Fund,  xxxvi,  244-246. 

14  Deutsche  Liter aturzeitung,  n.  25,  1572,  1904. 

13  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  xxxvi,  287-291  ; Orientalische  Literaturzeituno- 
vn,  240;  cf.  Al-Masrik,  1904,  469-475. 


RECENT  BIBLE  STUDY. 


533 


3.  New  Testament  Material. — Dr.  Grenfell  and  Dr.  Hunt  have 
been  excavating  for  several  years  at  Behnesa,  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Oxyrhynchus,  about  1 20  miles  south  of  Cairo,  in  Egypt. 
The  work  is  conducted  in  the  service  of  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund.  It  is  well  remembered  that  among  the  countless  papyri 
dug  up  in  1897  there  was  one  which  contained  eight  Logia  or 
Sayings  of  Jesus.  This  find  has  been  so  frequently  the  subject 
of  discussion  that  we  need  not  say  any  more  about  it.  But  another 
series  of  five  Sayings,  preceded  by  an  Introduction,  was  discovered 
by  the  two  explorers  in  February,  1903.  This  writing,  like  the 
former  of  eight  Sayings,  belongs  to  the  last  half  of  the  third  cen- 
tury. But  the  two  series  do  not  belong  to  the  same  document. 
The  first  was  contained  in  a papyrus  book,  with  its  pages  cut  and 
bound  at  the  back ; the  second  is  written  on  a papyrus  roll  which 
had  previously  been  used  as  a surveyor’s  record.  The  date  of  the 
writing  is  not  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the  Sayings ; they  appear 
to  belong  to  the  time  between  100  and  140  A.  D. 

Though  Grenfell  and  Hunt  did  not  publish  their  find  till  1904, 16 
it  has  been  the  subject  of  quite  a number  of  articles.  Professor 
Swete  discussed  it  in  the  Expository  Times ,17  Heinrici  in  the  Theol. 
Liter aturzeitu ng,18  an  anonymous  writer  in  the  Church  Quarterly 
Review™  Professor  Votaw  in  the  Biblical  World,20  Mgr.  Batiffol  in 
the  Revue  biblique ,21  and  another  writer  in  the  American  Catholic 
Quarterly  Review}1  We  need  not  say  that  thus  far  no  unanimity 
of  opinion  has  been  reached  as  to  the  main  questions  connected 
with  the  new  Sayings;  the  nature,  e.g,  of  the  collection  to  which 
they  belong ; the  sources  from  which  they  were  derived ; their 
authenticity ; and  their  relation  to  Christ’s  teaching  coming  down 
to  us  through  other  sources. 

Another  Oxyrhynchus  fragment  discovered  and  published  by 
Grenfell  and  Hunt  is  part  of  an  apocryphal  gospel.  The  writing 
appears  to  belong  to  the  first  half  of  the  third  century ; the  age  of 


16  The  Oxyrhynchus  Papyri,  Part  IV;  London,  1904,  Egypt  Exploration  Fund. 
Again,  New  Sayings  of  Jesus,  and  Fragments  of  a Lost  Gospel ; New  York,  1904, 
Oxford  University  Press. 

17  August,  1904. 

18  July  23,  1904. 

19  July,  1904. 


20  October,  1904. 

21  October,  1904. 

22  April,  1905. 


534 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  RE  VIE  IV. 


the  gospel  itself  cannot  as  yet  be  determined.  It  exhibits  resem- 
blances to  Matt.  6,  Luke  12,  to  a fragment  of  the  Gospel  accord- 
ing to  the  Egyptians,  and  to  a passage  in  the  so-called  second 
epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians.  The  reader  will  find  a briet 
notice  of  this  fragment  in  an  article  contributed  by  Professor  E.  J. 
Goodspeed  to  the  Biblical  World™ 

It  will  be  remembered  that  among  the  Oxyrhynchus  fragments 
of  1897  there  were  discovered  parts  of  the  text  of  Matt.  1,  and 
John  1 and  20.  These  writings  were  assigned  to  the  third  century 
so  that  they  formed  the  oldest  New  Testament  manuscripts.  The 
text  resembled  that  of  Sinaiticus  and  Vaticanus  respectively,  so 
that  it  corroborated  Westcott  and  Hort’s  text  and  theory.  The 
recent  Oxyrhynchus  find  contains  even  more  valuable  textua 
material.  Practically  one-third  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  has 
been  recovered24  on  a roll  originally  used  for  an  epitome  of  Livy. 
It  happened  probably  in  the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century  that 
the  roll  was  applied  to  a more  sacred  purpose.  The  text,  written 
on  the  back  of  the  roll,  thus  belongs  to  the  age  of  the  Vaticanus ; 
in  fact,  it  exhibits  most  affinity  with  its  great  contemporary  and 
with  the  later  Claromontanus.  The  reader  will  appreciate  the 
value  of  the  new  find  at  its  proper  rate,  if  he  calls  to  mind  that 
the  Vaticanus  does  not  contain  the  latter  parts  of  the  text  found 
on  the  Oxyrhynchus  manuscript. 

In  this  connection  we  must  mention  a discovery  that  belongs 
properly  speaking  to  the  Old  Testament  text.  Among  the 
recently  recovered  Oxyrhynchus  treasures  there  was  found  a 
papyrus  of  the  third  century  containing  six  fragments  of  the 
Greek  text  of  Genesis  in  the  version  of  the  Septuagint.  They 
include  parts  of  Genesis  14,  15,  19,  20,  24,  and  27.  Since  our 
great  Uncials  are  mutilated  in  the  early  parts  of  Genesis,  the 
newly  discovered  text  is  of  the  greatest  value.  In  it  we  possess 
perhaps  the  oldest  Biblical  manuscript  known. 

II.  History  and  Geography. — Though  the  Bible  does  not  pre- 
tend to  teach  either  history  or  geography  as  its  primary  object, 
it  is  so  intimately  connected  with  many  historical  and  geograph- 
ical questions  that  it  necessarily  shares  in  any  new  light  thrown 

a3  March,  1905. 

*4  Heb.  2 : 14 — 5:5;  10:8 — 11:13;  11:28 — 12:17. 


RECENT  BIBLE  STUD  Y 535 

on  them.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  following  points  will 
interest  the  Bible  student. 

1.  Professor  Hommel. — Professor  Ivan  von  Muller  edits  a new 
“ Guide  to  Classical  Antiquity/’  and  it  is  to  this  series  that  Pro- 
fessor Hommel  has  written  his  new  work  entitled  “ Outline  of  the 
Geography  and  the  History  of  the  Ancient  East.”25  The  work 
extends  to  400  large  and  closely  printed  pages,  but  they  have 
not  been  sufficient  for  the  author  to  finish  it.  We  need  not  say 
anything  about  the  writer’s  learning  and  painstaking  labor ; all 
this  is  understood  as  a matter  of  course  in  a man  of  his  character. 
What  are  then  the  author’s  peculiar,  or  at  least  emphatic,  points 
of  view  ? (1)  Chaldea  is  the  home  of  the  Hebrew  and  his  cradle. 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees  was  the  centre  of  a population  which  was 
Arabian  or  West-Semitic  rather  than  Babylonian,  and  here  was 
the  first  home  of  the  traditions  which  we  find  in  the  earlier  chap- 
ters of  Genesis.  The  geographical  and  personal  names  as  well 
as  the  stories  connected  with  them  point  to  this  conclusion.  (2) 
Midian  is  the  nursery  of  the  Israelite.  As  the  earlier  chapters  of 
Genesis  refer  us  to  Chaldea,  so  the  later  Books  of  the  Pentateuch 
refer  us  to  Midian.  The  Minaean  inscriptions  of  Midian  furnish 
us  with  the  counterparts  of  the  Israelitish  Levite  as  well  as  of  the 
technical  terms  of  the  Mosaic  cult.  (3)  Professor  Hommel  defi- 
nitely throws  over  the  critical  analysis  of  the  Pentateuch,  with  its 
P’s  and  its  Q’s,  with  its  Elohist  and  Yahvist.  And  how  freely  we 
breathe  when  this  monstrous  incubus  has  departed.  The  varying 
use  of  the  divine  names  Elohim  and  Yahveh  is  explained  on  other 
principles.  Hommel  adopts  Fr.  von  Hummelauer’s  view,  that 
“the  book”  in  which  Samuel  wrote  “the  manner  of  the  king- 
dom” is  our  present  Deut.  12-26  : 16.  The  suggestion,  he  says, 
“ hits  the  nail  on  the  head.”  The  statement  in  the  Books  of 
Samuel  demands  that  the  royal  code  should  be  found  somewhere 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  most  naturally  as  an  appendix  or  an 
insertion  added  to  the  Pentateuch. 

2.  Chronology. — M.  G.  Kyle  contributes  to  the  Bible  Student 
a study  entitled  “ Reckless  Chronology,”  in  which  he  shows  the 
groundlessness  of  W.  FI.  Petrie’s  assumption  as  to  the  prehistoric 

26  Grundriss  der  Geographie  und  Geschichte  des  alten  Orients  ; Miinchen,  1904, 
Oskar  Beck. 


536 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


time  preceding  the  Egyptian  series  of  kings;  i.  e.,  antedating 
4782  B.C.26 — C.  F.  Lehmann  considers  the  chronological  results 
derivable  from  the  inscription  of  Salmanassar  I,  found  by  the 
German  Oriental  Society ; 27  he  has  published  two  papers  on  the 
subject.28 — E.  F.  Peiser  too  believes  he  has  discovered  a new  date 
in  Assyrian  chronology;  he  places  Tiglatpileser  I in  the  time 
about  1180  B.C.29 — P.  Rost  writes  about  a new  date  for  Salman- 
assar I.  Historic  synchronisms  are  said  to  assign  him  to  about 
1 140  B.C.,and  to  prove  an  error  of  about  ten  years  in  the  old  chron- 
ology.80 — G.  Taaks  has  signalized  himself  by  an  enterprise  that 
betrays  either  supreme  earnestness  or  entire  want  of  mental  balance. 
In  December,  1903,  he  sent,  at  his  own  expense,  a little  pamphlet  to 
the  Theological  Faculties  of  the  various  Universities,  in  which  he 
represents  the  Bible  as  a work  of  diabolic  deceit.  To  the  super- 
stitious it  is  said  to  have  given  an  insane  man  as  a medium  of 
revelation,  and  to  have  employed  allegory  as  a literary  decoy  of 
falsehood.31  No  wonder  then  that  he  finds  in  the  difficulties  of 
Biblical  chronology  another  trace  of  falsification  and  deceit. 
The  Deuteronomist  is  the  rogue  who  is  guilty  of  this  class  of 
falsehood;  the  chronology  of  the  Priestly  Codex  should  have 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  public  to  this  cruel  game.  The  author 
has  come  to  know  the  real  state  of  the  case,  but  entirely  too  late 
to  remedy  the  evil.32 — F.  E.  Peiser  takes  the  last-named  writer  and 
his  monstrous  elucubrations  to  task  in  an  article  entitled  Auf  ver- 
lassenen  Pfaden 33 — An  article  signed  by  a Professor  of  Sacred 
Scripture  treats  of  the  Biblical  chronology  from  the  time  of  the 
tribal  schism  to  the  taking  of  Jerusalem;  it  appears  in  the  Science 
catholiqueP 

3.  The  Habiri. — Fr.  Delattre  has  contributed  to  the  Revue  des 
Questions  Historiques25  a study  entitled  “The  Pseudo-Hebrews 

26  N.  S.  i,  295-298. 

27  Cf.  Mitt.  d.  D.  Or.  Ges.,  n.  21,  March,  1904. 

28Beitr.  z.  a.  Gesch.  iv,  m-115  ; 260  f. 

29  Orient . L iteraturzeitung,  vii,  149  f. 

30  Orient . Literaturzeitung , vii,  179-182. 

31  Zwei  Entdeckungen  in  der  Bibel ; Ulzen,  1903;  Selbstverlag,  pp.  15. 

32  Alt.  Chronologie  mit  einer  Beilage  ; Ulzen,  1904;  Selbstverlag,  pp.  117. 

33  Orient.  Literaturzeitung , vii,  245-250. 

34  Aug.,  1904.  35lxxv,  353-382. 


RECENT  BIBLE  STUDY. 


537 


and  the  Tell-El-Amarna  Letters.”  The  writer  grants  that  the 
name  Habiri  may  be  identical  with  Hebrews,  as  far  as  mere  words 
go.  He  denies  that  there  are  any  other  proofs  for  the  identity  of 
the  two.  Other  considerations  rather  go  to  prove  that  they  are 
not  identical.  He  maintains  that  the  Habiri  are  nothing  but 
South  Palestinian  troglodytes,  and  that  Winckler  is  wrong  in 
identifying  them  with  the  Sa-gas. — J.  Halevy  writes  about  the 
Habiri  and  their  connection  with  the  inscriptions  of  Ta'annek.36  He 
upholds  the  identity  of  the  Habiri  with  the  Kossaeans,  being  nothing 
but  military  stations  of  the  latter  against  Egypt,  and  thus  similar 
to  the  Suti , of  whom  even  Fr.  Delattre  believes  that  they  were 
mercenaries. — Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce  too  writes  of  the  Habiri , but  in 
connection  with  the  question  whether  the  Hittites  extended  to 
southern  Palestine.  He  answers  this  last  question  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  appeals  to  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  of  the  Tell-El- 
Amama  Letters,  and  of  the  lately  discovered  Jeroboam  seal  in 
proof  of  his  opinion.37 

4.  Israel. — J.  Wellhausen  has  published  a fifth  edition  of  his 
Israelitische  und  judische  Geschichte  ; the  reader  is  sufficiently  well 
acquainted  with  the  general  character  of  the  work,  so  that  further 
comment  is  needless.38 — J.  P.  Peters  has  written  a work  on  “ Early 
Hebrew  History  ” with  a view  of  portraying  its  historical 
background.39 — A similar  ground  has  been  covered  by  E.  L. 
Thomas  in  a work  entitled  “The  Early  History  of  Israel.” 
The  author  adds  illustrations  and  maps.40 — C.  R.  Conder  has 
investigated  the  occurrences  of  “ Early  Notices  of  Palestine  ” in 
the  main  remnants  of  ancient  literature.  He  finds  the  earliest 
Egyptian  occurrence  in  the  history  of  Saneha,  about  2300  B.C. 
It  is  certainly  most  interesting  to  study  Conder’s  series  of  geo- 
graphical and  historical  names  in  their  earliest  forms.41 

III.  Religion.  The  literature  pertaining  to  the  history  of  religion 
has  become  quite  unwieldy.  Let  it  suffice  for  the  present  to  call 


36  Revue  semitique , xii,  246-258. 

37  Expository  Times , xv,  280-284  ; 474. 

38  Berlin,  1904  ; Reimer,  pp.  395. 

39  London,  1904;  Williams,  ix — 308. 

40  London,  1904;  Longmans,  pp.  164. 

41  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  xxxvi,  168-177. 


538 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


the  reader’s  attention  to  only  a few  of  the  more  important  works 
recently  published  on  the  subject. 

1.  Babylon  and  Assyria. — M.  Jastrow  continues  his  work 
entitled  Die  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens.  He  has  con- 
cluded the  magic  formulas,  and  has  begun  the  texts  of  prayers 
and  hymns.  This  work  has  been  noticed  before. 

2.  The  Semites.  Here  must  be  noticed  Professor  Curtiss’  inves- 
tigations into  the  early  Semitic  religion  as  far  as  it  has  been  kept 
in  the  popular  traditions  of  to-day’s  national  practices.  If  the 
professor’s  publications  were  as  reliable  as  they  are  interesting,  he 
would  deserve  our  sincerest  thanks.  As  they  are,  they  are  cal- 
culated to  lead  men  astray.  The  writer  acquired  his  information 
by  means  of  an  interpreter ; he  wrote  under  the  stress  of  many 
peculiar  religious  assumptions ; and  he  seems  to  have  recorded 
all  he  heard  without  exercising  any  discretion.42 

3.  Persia. — Fr.  Lagrange  writes  about  Parseeism,  and  pub- 
lishes his  writings  in  the  Revue  Bibliquel 13  He  places  the  origin 
of  Parseeism  after  the  seventh  century  B.  C.,  and  its  reform  about 
1 50  B.  C.  He  endeavors  to  arrive  at  the  old  form  of  Parseeism 
by  considering  its  reformed  system.  All  the  traits  that  are  allied 
to  Judaism  belong  to  the  reform  system,  so  that  Judaism  is  really 
the  original  from  which  Parseeism  has  been  copied.  The  true  his- 
tory of  the  inner  development  of  Judaism  will  go  far  to 
strengthen  this  position  of  Fr.  Lagrange. 

42  Ursemitische  Religion  im  Volksleben  des  heutigen  Orients;  Leipzig,  1903, 
Hinrichs;  pp.  xxx — 378.  Biblical  World , xxiii,  326-338.  Cf.  Revue  Biblique, 
N.  S.  i,  259  ff. 

43  N.  S.  i,  27^55  ; 188-212. 


Criticisms  and  jVotes 


JESUIT  EDUCATION : Its  History  and  Principles  viewed  in  the  Light  of 
Modern  Educational  Problems.  By  Kobert  Schwickerath,  S.  J.  Second 
Edition.  St.  Louis,  Mo.:  B.  Herder.  1904.  Pp.  687. 

There  is  no  end  to  the  discussions  and  laying  down  of  doctrines  and 
methods  touching  the  education  of  our  youth  ; and  indeed  there  should 
not  be.  For,  although  the  fundamental  principles  and  broad  outlines 
of  all  moral  and  intellectual  training  are  given  us  in  a sound  philos- 
ophy whose  efficiency  is  attested  by  its  harmony  with  right  reason, 
divine  revelation,  and  an  experience  of  centuries  under  varying  con- 
ditions, there  yet  remains  the  ever  changeable  application  to  the  grow- 
ing development  of  individual  temperament  and  character,  under  the 
progressive  influences  of  racial,  national,  social,  and  religious  life  and 
environment. 

Education  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term  has  a twofold 
scope,  the  moral  and  the  intellectual.  The  moral  scope  may  be  said  to 
have  been  ultimately  defined  for  us  by  Christianity.  The  Divine 
Founder  of  the  Church  has  unalterably  fixed  in  the  evangelical  prin- 
ciples the  lines  that  divide  right  and  wrong  and  further  the  steps  that 
lead  unquestionably  to  a perfecting  of  the  moral  qualities  according 
to  the  divine  model.  What  is  greatest  and  best  in  all  Christian  ages 
has  attested  the  inherent  value  of  the  evangelical  counsels,  although 
that  value  has  at  times  been  obscured  by  what  is  usually  termed  insti- 
tutionalisei,  a process  of  observance  in  which  the  letter  of  the  Christian 
law  is  made  to  supplant  the  spirit. 

The  secondary  scope  of  education  is  the  intellectual,  the  training 
of  the  mind ; and  although  I have  called  it  secondary,  it  is  neverthe- 
less capable  of  enhancing  the  vital  worth  of  moral  or  religious  educa- 
tion, so  as  to  complete  thereby  the  type  of  perfect  manhood  destined 
for  the  attainment  of  its  end  in  God’s  service,  and  of  absolute  happi- 
ness. 

Both  the  training  of  the  heart  to  the  attainment  of  the  highest 
moral  sense,  and  the  training  of  the  mind  which  illuminates  the  right 
moral  sense  to  a more  perfectly  balanced  and  conscious  as  well  as 
spontaneous  observance  of  the  Divine  will,  require  certain  exercises 
by  which,  as  in  military  drill,  the  faculties  are  directed  and  habituated 


540 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  EE  VIE  W. 


to  their  proper  use.  When  St.  Ignatius  founded  his  great  educational 
Order  he  provided  for  both  these  fields  of  moral  and  intellectual  train- 
ing a set  of  rules  and  observances,  perfected  in  part  by  his  disciples, 
and  known  respectively  as  the  Spiritual  Exercises  and  the  Ratio 
Studiorum.  The  precepts  and  directions  of  these  two  sets  of  exer- 
cises are  based  upon  the  constitution,  necessities,  and  ultimate  purpose 
of  human  nature  in  the  service  of  its  Creator  through  the  love  of  man 
for  his  neighbor ; and  the  method  is  regulated  by  the  effort  of  a grad- 
ual and  harmonious  development  of  all  the  higher  faculties  of  man, — 
memory,  imagination,  intellect,  and  will.  The  process  of  develop- 
ment must  be  gradual  and  harmonious.  This  is  effected  by  exercising 
the  faculties  upon  certain  phenomena  and  facts,  as  they  present  them- 
selves, and  the  result  is  dependent  upon  the  capacity  of  the  faculties  to 
take  in  the  phenomena  or  facts,  and  to  cover  them  or  go  out  to  them. 
Thus  we  have  a double  process  of  drawing  out  and  putting  in,  both 
working  simultaneously  like  the  sunlight  which  draws  moisture  from 
and  gives  heat  to  the  vegetation  in  the  same  act.  It  stands  to  reason 
that  the  “putting  in”  process  is  that  which  gives  quality  to  the  mind, 
and  that  if  we  put  either  too  much  or  the  wrong  thing  into  it,  we  fail 
to  draw  out  its  proportionate  activity  by  overloading  or  unbalanc- 
ing the  carrying  capacity.  Old  things,  out-of-the-way  things,  as  well 
as  untrue  things  are  not  as  apt  to  stir  the  power  of  observing  and  com- 
paring in  a young  mind,  as  are  things  present,  things  new  and  evi- 
dently true.  Hence  whatever  the  excellence  of  our  educational 
principles  and  methods,  if  they  are  exercised  upon  objects  that  do  not 
appeal  to  the  young  sense  by  their  freshness  and  reality,  the  exercise 
is  apt  to  frustrate  the  primary  object  of  intellectual  education,  by 
failing  to  properly  illuminate  moral  truth ; and  although  the  youth 
thus  educated  may  be  good,  he  is  out  of  harmony  with  his  environ- 
ment and  therefore  incapable  of  exercising  any  direct  influence  upon 
his  fellows. 

It  is  this  charge  of  ill-timed,  antiquated  exercises  employed  in  their 
educational  methods,  which  is  made  against  the  Jesuits  and  their 
instructors  of  to-day.  Whatever  the  value  of  the  principles  and  the 
methods  of  the  Ratio  Studiorum  in  the  past  and  in  the  abstract,  they 
fail,  so  it  is  argued,  in  an  application  which  demands  essentially  new 
objects  of  illustration  and  experiment.  Father  Schwickerath  contests 
this  view  by  showing  in  an  exhaustive  and  critical  way  that  the  Ratio 
Studiorum  has  never  been  employed  or  regarded  by  the  Society  as  a 
system  whose  precepts  are  intended  permanently  to  fix  the  programme 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


541 


of  studies  ; that  its  primary  object  is  to  maintain  intact  the  essentials 
of  an  educational  process  by  which  the  faculties  of  the  mind  are  gradu- 
ally and  harmoniously  developed.  He  shows  how  as  a matter  of  fact 
the  theory  of  adaptation  to  actual  conditions  is  marked  throughout  the 
history  of  the  educational  system  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  from  the  time 
of  its  foundation,  when  it  undertook  to  gather  up  the  threads  of  earlier 
scholasticism  and  to  bring  them  into  contact  with  the  nobler  aspira- 
tions of  the  Humanists,  giving  due  attention  alike  to  solid  thought  and 
classic  form. 

It  is  a very  interesting  story,  this  effort  to  draw  up  plans,  to  test, 
adjust,  and  revise  the  Ratio  Studiorum , and  to  note  the  effects  not 
only  of  its  application  at  different  periods  and  in  different  countries, 
but  also  of  the  interference  with  it  during  the  seasons  of  suppression 
by  outside  elements.  Not  quite  one-half  of  the  volume  is  taken  up 
with  this  history  of  the  great  educational  code,  and  the  difficulties  it 
had  to  meet  in  its  being  carried  out  by  the  teachers  of  the  Order. 

The  principal  and  really  important  part  of  the  volume,  however, 
is  devoted  to  an  exposition  of  the  principles  themselves  which  consti- 
tute the  Jesuit  method  of  education.  We  have  already  indicated  what 
the  vital  and  pervading  element  of  the  Ratio  Studiorum  is  in  itself. 
But  one  of  its  characteristics  is  what  the  author  calls  its  adaptability . 
It  is  not  without  reason  that  the  Jesuits  as  a body  are  credited  with  a 
prudent  conservatism  as  the  keynote  of  their  public  activity.  That 
same  conservatism  is  found  in  the  Ratio  Studiorum.  Hence  our 
author  is  able  to  examine  with  a certain  impartiality  arising  from  his 
very  standpoint  the  modern  systems  in  which  “cramming/ 7 “pre- 
mature specialization,”  “ electivism,”  have  become  a more  or  less 
distinguishing  feature.  He  contrasts  the  probable  and  indeed  proved 
results  of  a classical  training  insisted  on  by  the  followers  of  the  Ratio 
with  the  colorless  culture  imparted  by  the  elective  systems  in  which 
the  Latin  and  Greek  authors  have  a subordinate  place ; he  shows  how 
the  modern  lecture  system  has  brought  a tendency  to  undervalue  real 
teaching  ; how  the  neglect  of  philosophy  as  a definite  system  of  mental 
training  has  induced  an  atmosphere  of  vague  speculation  and  exalted 
personal  assertiveness.  And  then  he  points  the  way  to  a restoration 
of  the  ideal  teaching  with  its  essential  phases  of  all-sided  discipline 
and  training  to  the  use  of  freedom  and  of  all  that  appeals  to  the 
youth’s  sense  of  right  and  goodness  and  beauty. 

It  would  lead  us  too  far  to  discuss  here  separate  and  detailed 
phases  of  the  education  which  Father  Schwickerath  advocates.  His 


542 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW'. 


book  needs  to  be  not  only  read,  but  studied  in  order  to  understand 
the  futility  of  the  arguments  advanced  against  the  Jesuit  system  of 
education  in  its  fundamental  outlines  and  principles.  No  doubt  here 
and  there  in  Jesuit  colleges  there  is  to  be  found  an  excessive  and  one- 
sided insistence  on  traditional  details,  and  this  because  of  the  inherent 
conservatism  which  we  have  already  pointed  out.  But  neither  the 
Order  nor  the  Ratio  Studiorum  is  responsible  for  this  kind  of  limita- 
tion to  which  all  institutions  are  liable,  and  the  more  so  in  proportion 
to  their  general  excellence.  The  average  religious  feels  as  though  he 
or  she  were  better  than  the  religious  of  other  orders  or  than  seculars, 
not  because  there  is  really  any  conviction  of  personal  superiority,  but 
because  the  institute,  the  army  and  country,  so  to  speak,  to  which  the 
individual  belongs,  has  a greater  claim  upon  the  admiration  and  grati- 
tude of  its  members  than  any  other  of  similar  kind.  Thus  we  do 
what  those  did  and  commanded  who  preceded  us  in  a worthy  capacity, 
as  if  their  acts  were  not  only  an  example,  but  an  infallible  guide 
never  to  be  deviated  from  without  guilt  or  dishonor.  Our  author 
shows  that  this  is  not  the  spirit  of  St.  Ignatius,  or  of  Aquaviva,  or  of 
the  great  leaders  of  the  Order  down  to  our  own  day.  Let  us  have 
the  Ratio  in  our  education,  and  the  adjustment  to  modern  conditions 
may  easily  be  accomplished  without  opposition  or  misunderstanding 
on  the  part  of  all  true  educators  in  or  out  of  the  Society. 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  EDUCATION.  Being  the  Foundations  of  Educa- 
tion in  the  related  Natural  and  Mental  Sciences.  By  Herman  Harrell 
Home,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Philosophy  and  Pedagogy  in 
Dartmouth  College.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company;  London: 
Macmillan  and  Company,  Ltd.  1905.  Pp.  295. 

The  business  of  the  philosophy  of  education  is  rightly  deemed  by 
the  present  author  to  interpret  the  final  and  universal  meaning  of 
education,  and  consequently  to  evaluate  the  factors  that  condition  and 
constitute  educational  processes. 

The  educable  subject,  the  child,  may  be  viewed  as  a living,  a 
physical,  a social,  and  an  intelligent  being,  and  under  each  of  these 
four  aspects  comes  within  a distinct  science,  the  result  of  whose 
inquiry  should  terminate  at  a definition  touching  just  its  special  view 
of  the  corresponding  aspect  of  education.  Taking  the  latter  term  to 
signify  in  general  “ a superior  adjustment  to  environment,”  biological 
science  will  express  the  organic  or  anatomical,  while  physiological 
science  will  look  to  the  physical  development ; sociology  will  view  the 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


543 


intellectual,  emotional,  and  volitional  environment,  and  psychology 
will  emphasize  the  specifically  mental  side  of  the  subject.  It  remains 
for  philosophy  to  close  the  series  of  formulae  with  its  interpretation  and 
the  definition  : education  is  the  eternal  process  of  superior  adjustment 
of  the  physically  and  mentally  developed , free,  conscious , human  being 
to  God , as  manifested  in  the  intellectual , emotional , and  volitional  envir- 
onment of  man  (p.  285). 

In  selecting  and  arranging  the  empirical  and  more  or  less  scientific 
data  which  underlie  these  ascending  generalizations,  the  author  of  the 
book  at  hand  manifests  considerable  research  and  skill.  The  plan  of 
the  work  is  most  attractive,  and  not  a little  of  the  thought  is  at  least 
suggestive  and  stimulating,  if  not  particularly  informative.  On  the 
other  hand,  both  plan  and  matter  leave  much  to  be  desired. 

In  the  first  place,  the  principal  aspect  of  genuine  education — the 
moral — is  practically  omitted.  It  is  true,  something  is  said  about  re- 
ligion under  the  sociological  aspect  of  education,  where  it  is  sub- 
sumed under  ‘ 4 The  Emotional  Environment.”  But  religion  is  thus 
reduced  to  mere  feeling,  and,  deprived  as  it  is  both  of  its  supernatural 
and  intellectual  elements,  its  educational  efficiency  ceases  to  be  of  any 
permanent  value.  The  moral  factor  in  education  is  even  more 
summarily  dismissed  than  is  religion.  Barely  two  pages  are  devoted  to 
it  under  the  head  of  “Volitional  Environment,”  in  connection  with 
sociological  education.  And  here  too  the  conception  of  morality  is 
enucleated  of  its  essential  element ; for,  with  the  author,  “ the  moral 
law  is  self-legislated.  The  following  of  an  alien  law,  which  the  will 
of  the  individual  does  not  confirm,  is  not  morality  ” (p.  141).  He 
accepts  here,  as  elsewhere,  Kant’s  teaching  on  autonomous  morality, 
a theory  which,  by  making  the  individual  reason  the  source  of  the 
moral  law,  deprives  that  law  of  its  obligatory  power  and  consequently 
of  its  efficacy  as  an  educational  principle. 

In  his  references  to  the  history  of  education,  the  author  relies  on 
such  authorities  as  Compayre  and  Painter.  Their  influence  is  apparent 
in  the  sketch  of  physical  education.  It  may  well  be  that  in  mediaeval 
and  earlier  systems  muscular  exercise — gymnastics,  field  sports,  and  the 
rest — was  not  so  prominent  a feature  of  the  scholastic  as  it  is  of  the 
modern  curriculum,  and  indeed  it  may  have  been  even  frequently 
unduly  neglected  by  students  as  well  as  by  monks  ; but  that  it  was  left, 
as  the  author  indicates,  “ to  modern  thought  ” to  perceive  and  insist 
on  its  necessity,  or  that  “ John  Locke  . . . revives  first  among  the 
moderns  the  ancient  phrase  of  Juvenal  ‘ First  a sound  body  then  [sic] 


544 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  RE  VIE  IV. 


a sound  mind,’  ” is  hardly  consistent  with  truth.  The  author  would 
do  well  to  read  The  Jesuit  System  of  Education , reviewed  above, 
together  with  Brother  Azarias’  Essays  on  Education , — both  for  their 
positive  information  respecting  Catholic  systems  of  education  and  their 
critical  estimates  of  Compayre  and  Painter. 

However,  the  least  satisfactory  feature  of  the  work  lies  just  where 
one  might  and  should,  in  view  of  the  title,  look  for  its  strength, — 
namely,  in  its  philosophy.  The  system  embodied  and  applied  is 
entitled  “ Idealistic  Theism,”  although  it  might  more  accurately  be 
called  monism  with  an  expressly  idealistic  and  an  implicitly  materialistic 
strain, — a blending  of  Darwinian  with  Hegelian  evolutionism. 

The  author  indeed  eschews  “ the  error  of  pantheism  [which]  con- 
sists in  saying  4 All  is  God,’  instead  of,  ‘ All  is  God’s  ’ ” (page  270), 
but  many  of  his  expressions  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  first 
of  these  two  formulae.  “God  is  the  self-conscious  unity  of  all 
reality,  ’ ’ and  the  energy  of  the  world  ‘ 1 is  the  attentive  aspect  of  the 
consciousness  of  God”  (p.  269).  “ Matter  is  the  objective  thought 

of  the  infinite  consciousness  . . . ultimately  a process  of  thought 

in  the  consciousness  of  God  ” (p.  270).  Other  similar  expressions 
pregnant  with  Hegelianism  abound,  even  though  they  jostle  with 
phrases  that  may  bear  an  objectively  theistic  interpretation. 

On  the  whole,  the  impression  is  left  on  the  reader’s  mind,  that  the 
author’s  conception  of  the  ultimate  “self-active  reality,”  to  which  the 
“ self-active  man  ” must  conform  in  order  to  complete  the  educational 
process,  is  not  very  clear  ; and  the  conviction  grows  on  one  that  “ the 
ultimate  reality  ” demands  a more  accurate  definition,  if  it  is  to  stand 
as  the  final  and  universal  interpretation  of  education.  F.  P.  S. 

SOCIALISM  AND  OHEISTIANITY.  By  the  Eight  Eev.  Wm.  Stang,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Fall  Eiver.  New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago:  Benziger 
Brothers.  1905.  Pp.  207. 

No  student  of  modern  social  and  religious  conditions  can  have  any 
doubt  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  present  unrest  in  the  masses, 
whose  authority  is  said  to  shape  and  control  human  government.  As 
the  angry  frown  on  the  face  of  a ruler  portends  despotic  use  of  regal 
weapons,  unless  some  wise  counsellor  intervene  with  reasons  for  exercis- 
ing mercy,  so  the  general  discontent  of  the  laboring  classes  everywhere 
betokens  revolution  and  destruction,  unless  the  wisdom  of  the  Church 
prevail  by  her  influence  upon  the  masses.  The  clergy  are  still  the 
only  class  of  leaders  who  can  securely  sway  the  large  numbers  of  those 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


545 


who  profess  the  faith  ; and  it  behoves  the  priest  to  exercise  the  salu- 
tary influence  of  well-informed  direction  upon  those  whose  welfare  is 
entrusted  to  him.  We  must  know  the  character,  the  sources,  the 
extent,  and  the  remedies  of  Socialism  in  order  to  meet  its  seductive 
forces  of  evil.  The  false  theories,  accepted  by  the  simple-minded 
because  they  are  clothed  in  plausible  illustration  and  make  enticing 
promises  of  peace,  prosperity,  and  independence,  must  be  refuted  by 
intelligent  exposition  of  the  actual  features  and  destructive  conse- 
quences of  the  teaching  offered  in  the  philosophy  of  a social 
democracy  without  religion  or  controlling  authority. 

Bishop  Stang  understands  the  people  ; he  has  made  studies  of 
their  conditions,  and  his  sympathies  are  naturally  with  them.  As  a 
pastor  of  the  flock  he  is  prompted  to  find  ways  and  means  to  warn  his 
people  of  the  dangers  that  surround  them,  of  the  wolves  that  threaten 
to  invade  the  fold  in  the  guise  of  Socialism,  corrupting  and  destroying 
the  very  fundamentals  of  morality,  effacing  the  line  between  right  and 
wrong,  between  mine  and  thine.  His  book  is  a timely  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  true  social  reform  as  distinguished  from  Socialism. 
He  traces  the  sources  of  the  actual  discontent,  defines  the  limits  of 
public  and  private  ownership,  the  right  of  Capital  and  of  Labor,  the 
benefits  and  dangers  of  Unions,  the  functions  of  authority  to  arbitrate. 

But  his  analysis  of  the  subject  is  not  confined  to  the  mere  phe- 
nomena or  the  mechanical  and  material  phases  of  industrial  and 
social  life.  He  turns  the  searchlight  of  religion  upon  the  whole  ques- 
tion, examines  the  results  of  tried  experiments  in  the  past,  compares 
the  guild  system,  the  commercial  relations  and  the  feudal  forms  of 
peasant  life  in  the  ages  of  faith  with  the  changed  condition  of  things 
after  the  Reformation.  Thus  he  shows  experimentally  the  power  of 
the  true  religion  of  Christ  through  the  Church  to  control  evil,  to  bring 
out  the  best  in  man  individually  and  collectively,  and  to  make  him  con- 
tented and  prosperous.  After  these  arguments  we  hardly  need  the 
authority  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  Catholic  social  movement  whose 
pictures  the  Bishop  draws  for  us  by  way  of  illustrating  his  own  words. 

The  last  three  chapters  of  the  book  are  of  special  importance  in 
connection  with  the  reconstruction  of  the  social  fabric.  The  writer 
points  out  the  functions  of  true  education,  the  meaning  of  equality 
and  liberty  ; and  finally  draws  for  us  the  picture  of  a happy  home, — 
the  father,  the  housewife,  and  the  children,  each  fulfilling  their  part 
in  the  work  of  realizing  God’s  Kingdom  even  here  on  earth.  There 
is  a telling  paragraph  “ for  married  people  only  ” which  deals  briefly 


546 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


but  pertinently  with  the  question  of  race  suicide.  The  book  is  in  line 
with  Dr.  Stang’s  previous  volume  on  Pastoral  Theology  and  will  be 
wanted  in  every  priest’s  library  as  a practical  complement  to  the 
latter  work. 


HISTORY  AND  CRITICISM  OP  THE  LABOR  THEORY  OF  VALUE 
IN  ENGLISH  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.  By  Albert  C.  Whitaker, 
Ph.D.,  sometime  University  Fellow  in  Economics,  Columbia  Univer- 
sity ; Instructor  in  Economics,  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 
(Vol.  XIX,  No.  2.,  “ Studies  in  History,  Economics  and  Public  Law.") 
New  York  : The  Columbia  University  Press ; The  Macmillan  Company, 
Agents.  London  : P.  S.  Xing  and  Son.  1904.  Pp.  194. 

An  important  work,  appealing  primarily  to  the  student  of  economics. 
He  especially  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  confusion  begotten  in  his 
favorite  study  by  the  manifold  divergent  theories  excogitated  by 
economists  in  respect  to  the  meanings  and  correspondent  bases  of  the 
term  value.  Professor  Whitaker  prepares  the  way  to  a clarification  of 
the  concept  by  bringing  together  under  one  readily  apprehensible  and 
judiciously  critical  survey  the  views  of  English  economists, — Adam 
Smith,  Ricardo,  Malthus,  McCulloch,  James  Mill,  Torrens,  Senior, 
John  Stuart  Mill,  Cairnes,  and  Marshall.  That  he  has  succeeded 
in  perfectly  clarifying  the  term,  one  may  hesitate  to  decide  ; but  that 
he  has  facilitated  the  student’s  historical  inquiry  is  unquestionable.  It 
is  of  course  very  easy  to  assert  off-hand  that  the  exchange  value  of  an 
article  depends  on  its  utility.  The  element  of  costliness,  however,  is 
an  important  element.  Hence,  as  the  author  observes,  most  note- 
worthy mutations  in  exchange  value  have  resulted  from  discoveries  re- 
ducing the  labor-cost  of  goods.  And  yet  such  reduction  corresponds 
but  roughly  with  the  amount  by  which  its  pain-cost  was  reduced. 

Moreover,  such  alterations  of  exchange  value  are  affected  sorely  by 
alterations  of  the  value-determining  utility  itself.  Therefore,  the 
author’s  conclusion  is  justified  by  experience,  that  utility  has  a much  more 
direct  and  intimate  relation  to  value  than  cost.  Value  may  exist  without 
cost,  and  cost  may  be  expended  without  occasioning  utility.  On  the 
other  hand,  value  never  exists  without  utility,  and  utility  never  exists 
without  value.  Cost  affects  value  solely  by  influencing  utility.  Hence, 
the  conclusion  ‘ ‘ that  whenever  any  of  the  numerous  and  permanent 
forces  are  active,  which  interfere  with  the  influence  of  cost,  value 
follows  the  utility  and  not  the  cost  ” (p.  194),  seems  to  be  on  the  face 
of  it  sanely  reasonable,  as  well  as  conformant  with  experience. 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


54  7 


HISTORICAL  CRITICISM  AND  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  By  Pere 
J.  M.  Lagrange,  O.P.  Translated  by  Edward  Myers,  M.A.,  Priest  of 
the  Diocese  of  Westminster.  Catholic  Truth  Society.  1905.  Pp.  243. 

The  substance  of  this  volume  is  made  up  of  a series  of  lectures 
delivered  at  the  Institut  Catholique  of  Toulouse  in  1902.  When  first 
published  in  France  they  provoked  mingled  manifestation  of  praise 
and  blame.  Those  who  approved  had  of  course  no  reason  to  justify 
their  sympathy  beyond  what  the  author  himself  had  said ; but  those 
who  disapproved  were  bound  to  give  some  reason  for  not  accepting 
the  conclusions  of  the  eminent  Dominican  scholar  who  based  his  state- 
ments on  sound  principles  of  logic  in  the  domain  of  generally  admitted 
facts.  Pere  Lagrange  complains,  with  good  cause,  in  his  “author’s 
note  to  the  second  impression,”  that  his  Catholic  critics,  such  as 
M.  Dessailly  in  France  and  Professor  Vetter  in  Germany,  failed  to  state 
clearly  the  grounds  of  their  disagreement,  contenting  themselves  with 
certain  vague  reservations  or  charging  him,  by  an  unwarranted  inter- 
pretation of  his  words,  with  things  he  never  said.  Thus,  when  he 
speaks  of  “legends”  as  having  a place  in  the  Sacred  Text,  they  tell 
us  that  he  considers  the  Old  Testament  to  contain  mere  myths,  and 
this  despite  the  fact  that  the  experienced  teacher  of  the  Biblical  School 
in  Jerusalem  took  the  precaution  to  state  that  “ legendary  primitive 
history  has  its  place  between  the  myth  which  is  the  story  of  things 
personified  and  deified,  and  real  history.  ’ ’ Now  in  such  matters  as 
are  here  discussed,  terms  have  their  accurate  value,  and  words  may 
not  safely  be  juggled  with  as  is  the  custom  in  personal  controversy. 

But  if  anything  beyond  the  clear  and  objective  mode  of  reasoning 
of  Pere  Lagrange  were  needed  to  vindicate  his  orthodoxy  against  the 
insinuations  of  those  who  believe  that  new  knowledge  and  views  imply 
essentially  a denial  of  the  old  truths,  it  would  be  the  attitude  which 
the  author  maintains  toward  M.  Loisy.  This  attitude  is  manifest  from 
a letter  addressed  by  him  to  Mgr.  Batiffol,  and  printed  as  an  appendix 
to  the  lectures  in  the  present  volume.  In  this  essay  the  writer  states 
his  conviction  that  the  foundation  chosen  by  M.  Loisy  is  unsound  and 
saps  the  very  basis  of  Christian  dogma,  though  he  does  not  say  any- 
thing that  would,  in  the  vulgar  fashion  of  the  critic  who  thinks  himself 
licensed  to  abuse  the  erring,  indicate  the  motives  of  M.  Loisy  to  be 
insincere,  nor  does  he  deny  him  the  learning  to  which  the  French 
abbe  lays  claim,  or  the  boldness  which  makes  him  defend  his  con- 
clusions at  the  risk  of  honor. 

For  the  rest,  the  topics  which  Pere  Lagrange  discusses  in  this 


548 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


volume  are  confined  to  the  Old  Testament,  the  doctrinal  development 
to  which  it  bears  witness  as  a religious  history,  its  character  as  an 
inspired  work,  its  relation  to  history  in  its  wider  sense,  to  science,  and 
to  dogma.  He  draws  a strong  line  of  demarcation  between  the  field 
of  the  critic  and  the  domain  of  Catholic  dogma,  and  insists  with 
unequivocal  rigor  upon  the  obligation  laid  on  Catholic  exegesis  to 
respect  the  doctrinal  definitions  of  the  Church ; and  whilst  he  gives 
due  emphasis  to  the  necessity  of  respecting  the  traditions  of  the 
Fathers,  he  also  points  out,  as  Comely  and  others  have  done,  that  the 
unanimous  consent  so  often  referred  to  by  Catholic  writers  is  not,  in 
matters  of  exegesis,  of  very  frequent  occurrence. 

His  theory  regarding  the  extent  and  character  of  inspiration  is  in 
line  with  the  broader  views  of  recent  critical  studies  which  give  some 
weight,  though  not  that  exclusive  weight  often  claimed  by  the  Higher 
Criticism,  to  internal  evidence ; and  he  values  the  criteria  of  external 
evidence  applied  to  historical  writing  generally,  keeping  of  course  in 
mind  the  dogmatic  definition  which  makes  God  the  Author  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  in  all  its  parts.  Altogether  there  are  in  our  author 
a moderation  of  tone,  a reverence  for  legitimate  freedom  of  opinion, 
and  a wide  range  of  knowledge,  although  he  speaks  here  in  popular 
language  and  to  the  average  intelligence  rather  than  to  the  Scripture 
student.  The  points  on  which  one  is  inclined  to  differ  from  him  touch 
only  the  non-essential  elements  of  the  great  topics  of  Biblical  interpre- 
tation ; and  we  ought  to  be  disposed  not  only  to  admit,  the  right  of 
views,  but  to  seek  to  understand  them  in  a sympathetic  way  while  yet 
recognizing  or  preferring  others,  provided  always  these  views  do  not 
conflict  with,  or  minimize,  the  assured  truth  of  infallible  doctrine  on 
the  part  of  our  great  living  teacher,  the  Church  of  Christ.  In  con- 
nection with  Pere  Lagrange’s  essays  here  presented,  we  deem  it  oppor- 
tune to  call  attention  to  some  lectures  from  other  sources  delivered  at 
the  same  time  in  England  and  touching  kindred  topics. 

CRITICISM  OF  THE  HEW  TESTAMENT.  By  W.  Sanday,  D.D.,  and 
others.  London : John  Murray.  1902.  Pp.  vii— 230. 

Canon  Henson,  in  a prefatory  note,  states  the  object  of  this  pub- 
lication to  have  been  ‘ ‘ to  awaken  public  interest  in  Biblical  Science,  ’ ’ 
and  to  set  out  clearly  ‘ ‘ the  broad  principles  on  which  Biblical  criticism 
proceeds.  ’ ’ The  authors  here  brought  together  are  all  representative 
among  Protestants,  and  indeed  experts  in  their  particular  fields.  Dr. 
Sanday  treats  of  “The  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament”  generally  ; 
Dr.  Kenyon,  assistant  keeper  of  MSS.  at  the  British  Museum,  of  “ Manu- 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


549 


scripts  ’ ’ ; Mr.  Burkitt,  of  “ The  Ancient  Versions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment” ; Professor  Chase,  of  “The  History  of  the  Canon  of  the  New 
Testament”  ; Mr.  Headlam,  of  “The  Dates  of  the  New  Testament 
Books”  ; and  Dean  Bernard,  of  “ The  Historical  Value  of  the  Acts.” 
Dr.  Sanday’s  opening  essay  is  among  the  best  in  the  book.  It  is 
marked  by  the  orderly  arrangement,  the  fulness  of  detail,  the  apt 
references,  the  lucidity  of  expression,  that  one  expects  from  the  Lady 
Margaret  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Oxford.  He  begins  abruptly  but 
acutely  by  dividing  Criticism  into  its  two  branches  of  Lower  and 
Higher : the  one  concerned  with  the  smaller  questions  of  text  and 
words,  the  other  dealing  with  the  larger  questions  of  date,  authorship, 
sources,  composition,  character,  and  comparison  of  documents. 
Passing  over  the  survey  of  the  various  MSS.  which  collated  give  the 
text  of  the  New  Testament  as  we  know  it,  we  come  to  the  more  im- 
portant question  of  the  critical  value  of  its  various  books.  English 
critics  as  well  as  German,  the  lecturer  maintains,  have  an  absolutely 
honest  intention  to  look  facts  squarely  in  the  face,  although  they  refuse 
rightly  to  ignore  the  value  of  Christian  tradition  as  a factor  in  arriving 
at  the  truth.  Dr.  Sanday  parts  company  with  Westcott  on  the  Synop- 
tic problem.  He  rejects  in  toto  the  theory  that  accounts  for  the 
common  elements  in  the  first  three  Gospels  by  an  oral  tradition. 

‘ ‘ Most  scholars,  ’ * he  says,  ‘ ' are  agreed  in  holding  that  [they]  are 
really  based  on  a common  original  which  very  nearly  coincided  with 
our  present  St.  Mark.  ” To  this  they  add  a second  primitive  document 
largely  used  by  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke.  Papias  in  the  early  part  of 
the  second  century  is  brought  forward  in  support  of  this  “ two  docu- 
ment hypothesis,”  but  the  lecturer  refrains  from  making  more  than  a 
bare  assertion  to  that  effect.  He  attempts,  not  very  successfully  we 
think,  to  meet  the  objection  as  to  the  second  document  (the  Logia  or 
Oracles ),  that  while  “some  sections  of  the  common  matter  in  St. 
Matthew  and  St.  Luke  are  almost  verbatim  the  same,  others  are  widely 
different,”  by  the  further  hypothesis  of  a third  document  peculiar  to 
St.  Luke.  He  adds  that  “ average  opinion  ” agrees  with  St.  Irenseus 
in  placing  the  date  of  the  Synoptics  between  60-80  A.D. 

Similarly,  as  to  the  Fourth  Gospel,  moderns  agree  with  “ ancients  * ’ 
in  holding  that  its  object  was  to  supplement  the  already  existing  three. 
That  is  the  sum  of  Dr.  Sanday’s  treatment  of  one  of  the  thorniest 
points  of  Biblical  criticism.  We  are  surprised  that  it  is  so  inadequate. 
There  is  not  a word  about  the  authorship,  date,  historical  accuracy,  of 
the  Gospel. 


550 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


His  mention  of  the  Acts  need  not  detain  us,  since  it  forms  the  sub- 
ject of  a future  lecture.  The  difference  apparent  between  the  earlier 
Pauline  Epistles  and  the  later  ones,  e.  g. , the  Ephesian,  and  the  Pasto- 
ral epistles — a difference  which  is  the  crux  of  criticism — is  minimized 
by  the  considerations, — ( a ) that  there  is  never  any  real  inconsistency  ; 
( b ) that  the  changes  are  natural  under  the  circumstances  of  their 
composition,  and  (c)  that  St.  Paul’s  was  a genius  of  extraordinary 
versatility.  He  dismisses  Professor  Van  Manen  (who  would  admit  no 
genuine  Pauline  literature)  with  the  remark  that  he  “ does  not  count.” 

Dr.  Sanday  inclines  to  Harnack’s  view  (ably  worked  out  in  the 
latter’s  Zeitschrift fur  die  Neutest.  Wissenschaft , i,  pp.  16.  ff.,  1900) 
concerning  the  vexed  question  of  the  authorship  of  Hebrews , — that  it 
is  to  be  attributed  to  Aquila  and  Prisca  or  Priscilla.  He  admits,  how- 
ever, that  the  theory  is  pure  guesswork, — as  indeed  is  much  else  of 
the  Higher  Criticism.  The  rest  of  the  New  Testament  is  discussed 
shortly,  but  with  little  of  importance  left  unsaid.  We  note  inter  alia 
a reference  to  Zahn’s  ingenious  view  (popularized  in  England  by  Dr. 
Bigg),  that  Silvanus  acted  as  St.  Peter’s  amanuensis,  and  thus  became 
a living  link  between  the  two  great  Apostles,  and  a valuable  quotation 
from  Dr.  Robertson’s  Regnum  Dei  (p.  107)  as  to  the  probability  that 
the  Apocalypse,  in  its  final  form,  belonging  to  the  reign  of  Nero,  was 
based  upon  earlier  materials  written  under  Domitian. 

The  following  lectures  on  “ Manuscripts  ” and  “ Ancient  Versions 
of  the  New  Testament”  will  proVe  the  most  interesting  part  of  the 
book  to  the  ordinary  reader.  They  give  a very  full  acco  unt  of  the 
MSS.,  or  Codices,  ancient  versions,  patristic  quotations,  which  com- 
prise the  authorities  for  the  text  of  the  New  Testament.  At  the  same 
time,  the  style  is  purposely  simple  and  the  language  untechnical,  so 
that  there  is  not  the  least  difficulty  in  following  the  learned  writers. 
The  description  of  the  material  of  the  earliest  MSS. — the  papyrus — is 
especially  well  done,  showing  one  at  a glance  the  reason  for  their 
scarcity.  In  Egypt,  owing  to  the  dampness  of  the  climate  below  the 
Delta,  the  ancient  books  crumbled  to  pieces  ; and  in  other  places  the 
papyrus  was  so  brittle  that  only  the  scantiest  remains  have  been  pre- 
served. 

Other  points  of  interest  discussed  are, — the  texts  which  St. 
Jerome’s  revision  was  designed  to  supersede ; the  date  of  the  old 
Syriac  Version  (the  source  of  the  Peshitta ),  and  its  relation  to  Tatian’s 
Diatessaron ; the  different  readings  of  St.  Luke  2:  14  in  the  Greek 
and  Latin  MSS.  ; the  pre-Vulgate  form  of  the  New  Testament  which 


CRITICISMS  AND  NO  TES.  5 5 1 

St.  Patrick  brought  to  Ireland,  and  the  Sinai  Palimpsest  discovered  as 
recently  as  1893. 

Dr.  Chase  prefaces  his  essay  by  an  exhaustive  analysis  of  the  con- 
tents, a feature  which  might  well  have  been  imitated  by  the  other 
writers.  His  subject  is  the  History  of  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. He  first  summarizes  the  characteristics  of  the  history,  as 
influenced  by  Christian  worship,  literary  habit,  translation,  and  con- 
troversy (especially  in  relation  to  Gnosticism  in  its  numerous  phases). 
Then,  after  a digression  on  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  he  draws  from 
the  evidence  of  Eusebius  as  to  the  distinction  between  “the  ac- 
knowledged books  ” and  “ the  disputed  books  ” (St.  James , St.  Jude , 
Second  St.  Peter , and  “ the  so-called  Second  and  Third  Epistles 
of  John,  whether  they  be  the  work  of  the  Evangelist  or  it  may  be 
of  some  other  John  ”),  the  deduction  that  these  two  groups  correspond 
to  two  periods  into  which  the  history  of  the  Canon  may  be  divided, — 
the  first  up  to  A.  D.  200  circa,  the  second  from  A.  D.  200-400. 
During  the  earlier  period,  the  “acknowledged  Books”  were  recognized 
as  authoritative,  some  later  than  others.  The  New' Testament  of  St. 
Irenaeus  comprised  the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  the  Pauline  Epistles,1  several 
of  the  Catholic  Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse.  In  Dr.  Lightfoot’s 
words:  “ The  authority  which  [he]  attributed  to  [those  books]  . . . 

falls  short  in  no  respect  of  the  estimate  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
fourth  or  the  ninth  or  the  nineteenth  century.”2  The  lecturer  then 
traces  fully  the  recognition  of  the  Gospels  in  Hermas,  Tatian,  Justin 
Martyr,  and  Papias  of  Hierapolis  (a  sub-apostolic  Father),  and  after 
a regrettably  brief  reference  to  the  Acts  (as  referred  to  by  St.  Irenaeus), 
the  Muratorian  Canon,  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Tertullian — 
and  that  as  the  handiwork  of  St.  Luke — shows  that  the  Pauline 
Epistles  were  recognized  as  authentic  as  early  as  the  time  of  Marcion, 
not  to  speak  of  the  still  earlier  witness  (though  less  decisive)  of  SS. 
Polycarp  and  Ignatius. 

In  the  second  division  of  his  subject,  Dr.  Chase  gives  the  place  of 
honor  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  The  line  of  cleavage  as  to  its 
authority  coincides  with  the  boundary  between  East  and  West.  Three 
generations  of  Alexandrian  teachers — Pantsenus,  Clement,  and  Origen 
— in  different  degrees,  recognize  the  Pauline  authorship,  or,  at  least, 

1 We  note  with  interest  that  another  of  the  lectures  refers  contemptuously  to  the 
‘ * midsummer’s  madness  ’ ’ of  the  writer  (Professor  van  Manen  of  Leyden)  of  the 
recent  article  in  Dr.  Cheyne’s  Encycl.  Biblica , denying  the  authenticity  of  all  the 
Pauline  Epistles. 

2 Essays  on  the  work  “ Supernat.  Religion ,”  p.  261. 


552 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


the  Pauline  character  of  the  Epistle.  Eusebius  is  inconsistent  on  the 
subject.  The  Syriac  Vulgate  (the  Peshitta')  simply  styles  it  “the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,”  whereas  in  the  lists  of  SS.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem 
and  Athanasius  it  is  included  among  the  writings  of  St.  Paul. 

The  Western  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  “making  apostolic 
authorship  the  criterion  of  canonicity,  refuses  to  accept  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.”  Hippolytus,  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  Irenseus, 
Marcion,  Tertullian,  and  Cyprian  are  cited  in  confirmation  of  this 
attitude.  Of  the  other  “ disputed  Books,”  the  history  of  the  Catholic 
Epistles  is  the  most  interesting.  In  the  early  Syriac  Church  no 
Catholic  Epistle  was  accepted.  The  nucleus  of  the  present  collection 
consisted  of  I St.  Peter  and  I St.  John.  To  these  Epistles  that  of 
St.  James  was  added,  probably  in  Syriac,  for  we  find  that  these  three 
Epistles  formed  the  Canon  of  the  Catholic  Epistles  in  the  Syriac 
version  of  the  New  Testament.  They  alone  also  were  accepted  in 
the  sister  Church  of  Antioch.  The  authority  of  the  Epistle  of  St. 
James  was  never  doubted  in  the  East;  it  was  otherwise  in  the  West, 
where  St.  Cyprian  is  silent  about  it,  and  even  the  Church  at  Rome 
(to  judge  from  the  Canon  of  Muratori)  ignores  it,  although  traces  of  its 
language  are  found  in  St.  Clement,  in  the  Didaclie , and  in  the  Shep- 
herd of  Hermas. 

The  first  mention  of  the  further  collection  of  seven  Epistles  occurs 
in  Eusebius.3  Its  number  would  seem  to  be  prompted  by  the  rever- 
ence for  seven  as  the  symbol  of  perfection.  It  is  thought  that  the 
place  of  origin  of  the  collection  was  at  Jerusalem. 

Dr.  Chase  concludes  his  survey  with  the  three  observations, — 
(i)  that  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  was  a gradual  growth,  not 
the  creation  of  any  formal  enactment.  Here  he  surely  overlooks  the 
various  local  Councils  which  drew  up  authoritative  lists.  We  miss  all 
reference  to  the  celebrated  Council  of  Laodicea,  which,  if  it  did  noth- 
ing more,  at  least  gave  definite  shape  to  the  belief  of  Christians  of  the 
time,  and  so  stereotyped  the  prevalent  tradition.  (2)  That  the  vari- 
ous Books  do  not  all  stand  on  the  same  level  of  certainty  and  author- 
ity. But  this  is  surely  to  do  away  with  the  idea  of  inspiration.  If 
God  be  the  real  author,  even  the  most  insignificant  Epistle,  whose 
history  is  lost  in  a thick  haze  of  obscurity,  must  be  authoritative. 
(3)  That  the  position  of  “those  Apostolic  writings  which  are  the 
title-deeds  of  our  Christian  faith  and  life— the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  the  two  great  Epistles  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  ” 
— have  a “unique  and  sure  position.” 

3H.  E.,  ii,  23-25. 


CRITICISMS  AND  NOTES. 


553 


We  can  only  briefly  notice  the  two  remaining  lectures  on  4 ‘The 
Dates  of  the  New  Testament  Books”  and  “The  Historical  Value  of 
the  Acts,”  respectively.  In  the  former,  Mr.  Headlam  gives  a suc- 
cinct account  of  the  latest  conclusions  of  criticism  which  he  more  or 
less  adopts  as  his  “ own  belief,”  e.  g.,  in  fixing  the  date  of  St.  Matthew 
as  “well  back  into  the  first  century,”  and  that  of  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  generally  as  between  A.D.  60-80.  He  refuses  to  accept 
Harnack’s  theory  that  “John  the  Presbyter”  was  the  author  of  the 
Johannine  Gospel  and  ascribes  it  to  the  Apostle  St.  John  writing  at 
the  end  of  the  first  century.  On  the  other  hand,  he  does  not  commit 
himself  definitely  as  to  the  date  of  II  Peter  and  Jude,  books  which  he 
considers  “the  most  doubtful  writings”  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
for  whose  date  ‘ * there  is  no  external  testimony  to  compel  us  to  put 
[it]  before  150  A.D.” 

The  concluding  lecture  by  Dr.  Bernard  is  a twenty -page  dissertation 
on  such  questions  arising  from  his  subject — the  historical  value  of  the 
Acts — as  miracles,  St.  Luke’s  tendency  to  connect  his  narrative  with 
contemporary  events  in  the  Roman  Empire,  and  to  allude  to  local  his- 
tory and  topography ; his  medical  knowledge ; his  educated  style. 
He  takes  St.  Luke  to  be  unquestionably  the  author  of  the  “We” 
passages,  and  parts  company  with  many  German  scholars  in  consider- 
ing that  the  unity  of  the  whole  work  excludes  the  hypothesis  that 
‘ ‘ the  author  of  the  Acts  in  its  present  form  has  incorporated  an 
authentic  journey-record  into  his  narrative,  which,  as  a whole,  was 
composed  at  a later  date.  ’ ’ But  he  considers  that  elsewhere — e.  g. , up 
to  Chap.  13, passim,  and  occasionally  later  on  (as  in  Chap.  23  : 26  ; 
24  : 10 ; 26:  2) — he  made  use  of  existing  documents,  much  in  the 
same  way  that  the  Synoptists  compiled  their  Gospels. 

The  book,  from  what  we  have  seen,  may  be  summed  up  as  an 
accurate  presentation  of  the  results  of  the  Higher  Criticism  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  New  Testament,  written  in  a readable  and  yet  scholarly 
form.  That  the  authors  have  hardly  succeeded  in  realizing  Canon 
Henson’s  sanguine  expectations  of  harmonizing  the  conclusions  of  the 
New  Learning  (to  use  his  own  phrase)  with  the  “current  teaching  of 
the  Church,”  is  only  what  we  might  expect  from  the  lengths  to  which 
they  go  in  accepting  the  latest  arguments  made  in  Germany.  And,  if 
the  reader  is  tempted  to  be  disappointed  at  the  number  of  unsupported 
statements  and  unsubstantial  theorizing,  he  can  at  least  congratulate 
himself  that  he  has  acquired  a fairly  complete  knowledge  of  the  con- 
clusions and  methods  of  the  much-praised  school  of  Biblical  critics. 


Hmoemtates  pastorales 


Bishop  Talbot  tells  of  a sermon  he  preached  in  a Western 
settlement  at  which  a local  unbeliever  had  been  persuaded  to  be 
present,  much  against  his  custom.  He  was  afterwards  asked  how  he 
liked  the  Bishop.  “ Pretty  well,”  said  he  ; “ and  I learned  one  new 
thing.  I learned  that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  was  places.  I always 
thought  they  was  husband  and  wife.” 


Rear-Admiral  Charles  S.  Cotton,  who  has  been  entertained  abroad 
with  singular  splendor  and  heartiness,  sat  one  evening  at  a dinner- 
party beside  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  a clergyman  noted  for  his  wit. 

Near  the  bishop  there  was  a millionaire  manufacturer,  a stout  man, 
with  a loud,  coarse  laugh,  who  ate  and  drank  a good  deal,  and  who 
cracked,  every  little  while,  a stupid  joke. 

One  of  this  man’s  jokes  was  levelled  at  the  brilliant  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham, whom  he  did  not  know  from  Adam.  It  was  enough  for  him  that 
the  bishop’s  garb  was  clerical.  Here  was  a parson ; here,  therefore, 
a chance  to  poke  a little  fun  at  the  parson’s  trade. 

“I  have  three  sons,”  he  began  in  a loud  tone,  nudging  his 
neighbor  and  winking  toward  the  bishop,  * 1 three  fine  lads.  They  are 
in  trade.  I had  always  said  that  if  I ever  had  a stupid  son  I’d  make  a 
parson  of  him.” 

The  millionaire  roared  out  his  discordant  laugh,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Durham  said  to  him  with  a quiet  smile  : 

“ Your  father  thought  differently  from  you,  eh?  ” 


According  to  a contemporary,  a bishop  who  is  widely  known  for 
his  sympathetic  and  kindly  nature,  having  occasion  recently  to  call 
upon  a widow  on  some  church  matter,  and  finding  her  deeply  dis- 
tressed at  her  loneliness,  ventured,  as  he  was  quite  entitled  to  do,  to 
offer  a few  words  of  fatherly  consolation. 

“You  must  not,”  he  said,  “be  cast  down  by  your  sorrow  and 

lonely  position.  Remember  the  maxim,  ‘ Man  proposes,  but’ ” 

“Ah,  my  lord,”  interrupted  the  lady,  “ if  man  only  would.” 


AMOENITA  TES  PASTORALES. 


555 


“ The  wind  bloweth,  the  water  floweth,  the  farmer  soweth,  the 
subscriber  oweth,  and  the  Lord  knoweth  that  we  are  in  need  of  our 
dues.  So  come  a-runnin’  ere  we  go  a-gunnin’,  for  this  thing  of 
dunnin’  gives  us  the  blues.” 


The  Spectator  tells  the  following  story  of  the  late  Queen  Victoria. 
On  her  return  from  Northern  Italy,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  the 
Dean  of  Windsor  were  dining  with  her,  when  she  remarked  to  the 
former:  “You  remember  that  before  I started  for  Italy  you  urged  me 
not  to  fail  to  visit  the  conventual  church  at  Assisi.  I bore  this  in 
mind,  and  was  greatly  impressed  by  all  I saw  there.  I had  one  droll 
experience,  too.  For  as  I was  being  conducted  through  a very  chilly 
corridor  by  one  of  the  monks  I said  to  him  : * Don’t  you  often  feel 
the  draughts  very  trying,  wearing  the  tonsure  as  you  do  ? ’ I received 
my  answer,  not  in  Italian,  but  in  these  words  : ‘ No,  Madam  ; I can’t 
say  that  I suffer  in  that  way  at  all.  As  you  must  be  aware,  we  Irish 
are  a rather  hot-headed  race.’  ” 


“I  can’t  go  down  in  dat  water  wid  you,  Br’er  Williams,”  said  the 
convert ; “I  too  ’fraid  alligators.  ’ ’ 

“ Nonsense  ! ” said  Br’er  Williams.  “ Didn’t  it  turn  out  all  right 
wid  Jonah  after  he  was  swallered  by  de  whale  ? ” 

“Yes,”  replied  the  convert,  “but  a Georgy  alligator  is  mo’ 
tougher  dan  what  a whale  is,  en  got  less  conscience.  After  he  swallers 
you  he  goes  ter  sleep  en  fergits  all  erbout  you  ! ” 


“What’s  the  difference  between  a bishop  and  a monsignor?” 
a friend  asked  of  a well-known  archbishop. 

“Well,”  answered  the  distinguished  prelate,  after  a moment’s 
reflection,  “ a monsignor  is  a sort  of  counterfeit  bishop.  The  genuine 
bishop  you  may  know  by  the  ring.” 


The  same  prelate  is  said  to  have  obtained  the  title  of  monsignor 
for  some  of  his  counsellors.  After  the  fact  was  made  known  to  the 
recipients  in  a meeting  of  the  consultors  a visiting  clergyman  asked 
one  of  the  lucky  priests  how  the  members  of  the  council  received  the 
intelligence.  “ O,”  said  the  witty  pastor,  “ some  of  us  smiled  because 
we  got  the  purple,  the  others  frowned  because  they  got  the  blues.  ’ ’ 


556 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


An  Eddyite  while  walking  in  the  country  came  across  a small  boy, 
sitting  under  an  apple-tree,  doubled  up  with  pain. 

“ My  little  man,”  he  said,  “ what  is  the  matter?  ” 

“I  ate  some  green  apples,”  moaned  the  boy,  “and  O,  how  I 
ache  ! ’ ’ 

“'You  don’t  ache,”  answered  the  follower  of  Mrs.  Eddy;  “you 
only  think  so.” 

The  boy  looked  up  in  astonishment  at  such  a statement,  and  then 
replied  in  a most  positive  manner  : 

“That’s  all  right;  you  may  think  so,  but  I’ve  got  inside  infor- 
mation. ’ ’ 


Literary  Chat, 


Father  F.  X.  Reuss,  C.SS.R.,  has  published  a neat  volume  of  La  Fontaine’s 
Fables  translated  into  classic  Latin  verse  (hexameter  and  pentameter).  The  work  is 
a not  unpleasant  diversion  from  the  graver  and  usually  sacred  themes  to  which  the 
author  more  frequently  devotes  himself.  (Phil.  Cuggiani,  Rome. ) 


Those  who  have  hitherto  complained  of  a lack  of  Scriptural  Manuals  written  by 
Catholics,  have  their  varied  wants  now  well  nigh  satisfied,  at  least  with  regard  to 
parts  of  the  New  Testament  The  following  three  series  from  separate  sources  are 
in  course  of  publication  : — Scriptural  Manuals  for  Catholic  Schools , edited  by  Father 
Sydney  Smith,  S.J.  (Burns  & Oates)  ; St.  Edmunds  College  Series  of  Scripture 
Handbooks  (Catholic  Truth  Society,  London)  ; and  lastly,  Catholic  Scripture 
Manuals  by  Madame  Cecilia  (Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  & Co.,  London).  The 
last  mentioned  is  a most  satisfying  piece  of  work  and  promises  to  cover  the  riper 
student’s  ground.  Thus  far  only  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark  has  been  issued 
of  the  last  mentioned  series,  but  other  volumes  are  in  preparation.  (Benziger 
Brothers,  agents.) 


The  three  Helen  Gould  prize  essays  intended  to  set  forth  the  relative  merits  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  English  Bibles  have  been  published.  Dr. 
Melancthon  Williams  Jacobus,  Dean  of  Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  does  the 
editing,  and  concludes  that  “the  great  difference  between  the  versions  is  the  presence 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Bible  of  the  Apocrypha,’  ’ the  collection  of  books  rejected  by 
Protestants  as  uncanonical.  “ Compared  with  this  difference  between  the  two 
versions  all  other  differences  are  insignificant.”  That  is  a true  view  of  the  matter, 
although  a great  deal  could  be  made — as  was  the  case  during  the  ferment  of  the  so- 
called  Reformation  and  down  to  our  own  days  of  Biblical  criticism — of  the  differences 
in  translation  of  certain  passages  and  words  as  pivots  of  sectarian  contention. 


LITERARY  CHAT 


55  7 


Nearly  five  hundred  persons  entered  their  names  for  the  contest.  Two  hundred 
and  sixty-five  essays  were  submitted  to  the  judges, — a few  of  these  by  Catholics. 
But  the  Committee  failed  in  its  efforts  to  secure  at  least  two  Roman  Catholic  judges, 
“ notwithstanding  the  fact  that  prominent  members  of  the  American  hierarchy  joined 
in  the  friendly  search  for  men  whose  talents  and  scholarship  might  fitly  represent  a 
world-wide  communion.” 


That  is  surely  a sad  plight  in  which  the  American  Committee  and  friendly 
Hierarchy  must  have  found  themselves.  The  man  who  took  the  first  prize  lives,  we 
believe,  in  Australia,  and  the  two  authors  he  searched  to  inform  himself  of  the  Catholic 
side  of  the  contention  were  Cardinal  Newman  and  Father  Gigot,  who  lives  right  under 
the  nose  of  the  Committee  in  New  York.  Perhaps  he  was  not  the  judge  the  friendly 
Committee  wanted,  but  he  must  be  capable  and  could  have  possibly  helped  them  a 
little  farther  in  their  search. 


Apologia  pro  Foedere  Abstinentiae , by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  McSweeny,  who 
pleads  for  wider  priestly  interest  in  the  Total  Abstinence  cause  in  America,  which 
appeared  as  an  article  in  these  pages,  has  been  published  in  pamphlet  form  by  the 
“ Priests’  Total  Abstinence  League.”  The  indefatigable  zeal  of  the  venerable  presi- 
dent of  the  Society  has  succeeded  in  introducing  the  League  in  nearly  all  our  greater 
clerical  seminaries. 


Franciscan  literature  is  becoming  a favorite  source  of  reading  and  study  at 
present.  The  London  Truth  Society  has  issued  quite  a number  of  books  on  the  sub- 
ject, among  which  is  to  be  especially  mentioned  Father  Paschal  Robinson’s,  The 
Real  St.  Francis  of  Assisi.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  this  humble  priest 
of  St.  Francis  who  dwells  in  America  is  a former  assistant  editor  of  the  North 
American  Review  and  after  having  entered  the  Seraphic  Order  went  to  Italy  to  make 
researches  in  the  old  libraries.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  work  of  preparing 
editions  of  the  early  companions  of  St.  Francis. 


An  exquisite  second  impression  of  the  Little  Flowers  of  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi , 
with  illustrations  by  Paul  Woodroffe,  has  just  been  issued  by  Kegan  Paul,  Trench, 
Triibner  & Co.  It  is  based  upon  the  translation  made  by  the  Franciscan  Fathers  at 
Upton  (England)  which  has  been  carefully  revised  by  Thomas  Okey.  The  compiler 
of  the  Fioretti  is  unknown  ; the  work  dates  probably  from  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century. 


A very  needful  reference  book  for  English  Catholics,  but  also  a very  instructive 
volume  by  reason  of  its  suggestiveness  of  Christian  philanthropic  activity  in  its  many 
phases  as  carried  out  in  England  and  Scotland,  is  the  Handbook  of  Catholic  Charitable 
and  Social  Works  (Catholic  Truth  Society,  London).  It  covers  144  pages  of  brief 
references  to  the  locality  and  character  of  Catholic  organizations  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom. 


Books  Received 


THEOLOGICAL  AND  ASCETICAL. 

The  Church  of  God  on  Trial  before  the  Tribunal  of  Reason.  By  Edward 
J.  Maginnis,  of  the  Schuylkill  County  Bar,  Penna.  New  York  : The  Christian  Press 
Association  Publishing  Co.  1905.  Pp.  248.  Price,  $0.80  net. 

The  Light  of  Faith.  A Defence,  in  brief,  of  Fundamental  Christian  Truths. 
By  Frank  McGloin,  author  of  Norodom,  Kin*  Oe  Cambodia ; The  Conquest  of 
ku>ope,  etc.  St.  Louis:  B.  Herder.  1905.  Pp.  285.  Price,  $1.00  net. 

The  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  Intended  specially  for  priests  and 
candidates  for  the  priesthood.  By  the  Rev.  H.  Noldin,  S.J.  Authorized  translation 
from  the  German.  Revised  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Kent,  O.S.C.  New  York,  Cincin- 
nati, Chicago:  Benziger  Brothers.  1905.  Pp.  272.  Price,  $1.25  net. 

La  Vraie  Religion  Selon  Pascal.  Recherche  de  l’ordonnance  purement 
logique  de  ses  pensees  relatives  a la  religion.  Suivie  d’une  analyse  du  Discours  sur 
les  Passions  de  V Amour.  Par  Sully  Prudhomme,  de  PAcademie  frangaise.  Paris  : 
Felix  Alcan.  1905.  Pp.  x — 444.  Prix,  7 francs  50  centimes. 

The  Imitation  of  Christ.  New  Revised  Translation,  by  Sir  Francis  R. 
Cruise.  San  Francisco,  Cal.  : Catholic  Truth  Society.  1905.  Pp.  viii — 248. 
Price,  $0.25  ; by  mail,  $0.30. 

Through  Suffering  to  Happiness.  By  the  Rev.  Victor  Van  Tright,  S.J. 
Adapted  from  the  French,  by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Leleu.  St.  Louis,  Mo.:  B.  Herder. 
1905.  Pp.  93.  Price,  $0.30. 

The  Catechist  in  the  Infant  School.  By  the  Rev.  Lambert  Nolle,  O.S.B., 
Priest  of  Erdington  Abbey,  Professor  of  Liturgy  and  Catechetics  at  St.  Mary  s Cen- 
tral Seminary,  Oscott.  St.  Louis,  Mo.:  B.  Herder.  1905.  Pp.  109.  Price,  $0.60 
net. 


The  Priestly  Element  in  the  Old  Testament.  By  William  Rainey  Har- 
per. (The  College  Series.)  A text-book  on  the  history,  law,  and  usages  of  wor- 
ship, for  advanced  students.  Pp.  292.  Price  $1.00. 

The  May-Book  of  the  Breviary.  Translated  from  the  Latin-and  arranged 
by  the  Rev.  John  Fitzpatrick,  O.M. I.  London:  R.  and  T.  Washbourne  ; New 
York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  : Benziger  Brothers.  1904.  Pp.  141.  Price,  $0. 30. 

L’Eglise  et  L’  Etat  LaIque.  Separation  ou  accord  ? Etude  de  Principes. 
Par  P Abbe  Bernard  Gaudeau,  Docteur  es-lettres,  Ancien  Professeur  de  Theologie 
h l’institut  Catholique  de  Paris.  Paris:  P.  Lethielleux.  1905.  Pp.  128.  Prix  1 
franc. 

Liber  Jesu  Filii  Sirach  sive  Ecglesiasticus.  Hebraice.  Secundum 
codices  nuper  repertos  vocalibus  adornatus,  addita  versione  (Latina  cum  glossario 
Hebraico- Latino.  Edidit  Norbertus  Peters.  Friburgi  Brisgoviae:  B.  Herder. 

1905.  Pp.  163.  Price,  $1.20  net. 

Reflections  from  the  Mirror  of  a Mystic.  Translated  from  the  Works  of 
John  Rusbrock.  By  Earle  Baillie.  London  : Thomas  Baker.  1905.  Pp.  98. 
Price,  2s.  net. 


BOOKS  RECEIVED. 


559 


LITURGICAL. 

Vade  Mecum.  A Collection  of  Motets,  Hymns,  Offertories,  etc.,  for  four  male 
voices.  Compiled  by  A.  M.  Knabel.  Fischer’s  Edition  No.  2675.  New  York  : 
J.  Fischer  & Bro. ; London:  The  Vincent  Music  Co.,  Ltd.  1905.  Pp.  94.  Price, 
#0.75  net. 

Mass  of  the  Fifth  Tone.  By  Henry  Dumont.  Arranged  with  Organ 
Accompaniment  by  A.  Edmonds  Tozer,  Knight  of  the  Pontifical  Order  of  St.  Syl- 
vester, Doctor  in  Music  of  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Durham,  England,  Fellow 
of  the  Royal  College  of  Organists.  Fischer’s  Edition  No.  2629.  New  York: 
J.  Fischer  & Bro.  Price,  score  $0.60;  voice  part,  $0.15. 

Missa  in  Honorem  Beatae  Mariae  Virginis.  Ad  unam  vocem  comitante 
Organo.  Auctore  E.  J.  Biedermann.  Opus  30.  Fischer’s  Edition  No.  2686. 
New  York  : J.  Fischer  & Bro.;  London:  The  Vincent  Music  Co.,  Ltd.  Price, 
score,  $0.60;  voice  part,  $0.15. 

The  Principal  Offertories  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Year.  For  four  mixed 
voices.  By  various  composers.  Edited  by  J.  Gubin g.  Fischer’s  Edition  No.  2602. 
New  York:  J.  Fischer  & Bro.  Price,  $1.00. 

PHILOSOPHY. 

Religions  et  Societes.  Lemons  professees  k l’6cole  des  Hautes  Etudes 
Sociales.  Par  MM.  Theodore  Reinach,  A.  Puech,  Raoul  Allier,  Anotale  Leroy- 
Beaulieu,  Baron  Carra  de  Vaux,  Hippolyte  Drefus.  Paris:  Felix  Alcan.  1905. 
Pp.  xii — 288.  Prix,  6 francs. 

The  Historical  Development  of  the  Poor  Law  of  Connecticut.  By 
Edward  Warren  Capen,  Ph.D. , Alumni  Lecturer  of  Hartford  Theological  Seminary. 
Studies  in  History,  Economics  and  Public  Law.  Vol.  XXII.  Edited  by  the  Faculty 
of  Political  Science  of  Columbia  University.  New  York  : The  Columbia  University 
Press;  London:  P.  S.  King  & Son.  1905.  Pp.  520. 

Grundzuge  der  Philosophischen  Propadeutik.  Fur  den  Gymnasialunter- 
richt.  Von  Dr.  Joseph  Hense,  Direktor  des  Koniglichen  Gymnasiums  zu  Pader- 
born.  Beigabe  zu  dem  Deutschen  Lesebuche  fur  die  oberen  Klassen  hoherer 
Lehranstalten  desselben  Verfassers.  Freiburg  im  Breisgau,  Wien,  Strassburg, 
Miinchen  und  St.  Louis,  Mo.:  B.  Herder.  1905.  Pp.  37.  Price,  $0.20  net. 

HISTORY. 

Short  Stories  from  American  History.  By  Albert  F.  Blaisdell,  author  of 
Stories  from  English  History , etc.,  etc.,  and  Francis  K.  Ball,  Instructor  in  the 
Phillips  Exeter  Academy.  Boston,  New  York,  Chicago,  London  : Ginn  & Co.  1905. 
Pp.  ix — 146. 

The  Story  of  Columbus  and  Magellan.  By  Thomas  Bonaventure  Law- 
ler, A.M.,  author  of  Essentials  of  American  History.  Boston,  New  York,  Chicago, 
London  : Ginn  & Co.  1905.  Pp.  vii — 1 5 1 . Price,  $0.45. 

The  Chronicle  of  Jocelin.  With  Introduction,  Notes,  and  Index,  by  Sir 
Ernest  Clarke,  F.S.A. ; and  a Foreword  by  the  Rev.  William  Barry.  The  “ Past 
and  Present  ” Library.  London  : Burns  & Oates,  Ltd.  ; St.  Louis,  Mo.  : B.  Herder. 
Pp.  xliii — 285.  Price,  #0.40  net. 

The  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland.  By  William  Canon  Fleming. 
London:  R.  & T.  Washbourne  ; New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago:  Benziger  Brothers. 
1905.  Price,  #0.75. 


560 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  REVIEW. 


Life  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  Knt.  By  his  Son-in-Law,  William  Roper.  With 
a Foreword  by  Sir  Joseph  Roper,  Knt.,  Judge  of  the  King’s  Bench  Division.  The 
‘ ‘ Past  and  JPresent  ’ ’ Library.  London  : Burns  & Oates,  Ltd. ; St.  Louis,  Mo.  : 
B.  Herder.  Pp.  xvi — 192.  Price,  $0.55  net. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

Le  Gout  en  Litterature,  par  Joel  de  Lyris.  Avignon  : Aubanel  Freres. 
1905.  Pp.  217.  Prix,  3 francs. 

The  Gentle  Shakspere.  A Vindication.  By  John  Pym  Yeatman.  Third 
Edition  (augmented).  New  York  : The  Shakespeare  Press ; Birmingham  : Moody 
Brothers.  1904.  Pp.,  Introduction  to  Third  Edition,  74;  Introduction  to  Second 
Edition,  72;  Preface,  11  ; Main  part  of  book,  317.  Price,  $2.00. 

The  Love  of  Books.  Being  the  “ Philobiblion  ” of  Richard  de  Bury,  Bishop 
of  Durham.  With  a Foreword  by  George  Ambrose  Burton,  Bishop  of  Clifton.  The 
“ Past  and  Present  ” Library.  London  : Bums  & Oates,  Ltd.  ; St.  Louis,  Mo. : 
B.  Herder.  Pp.  xxi — 148.  Price,  $0.40  net. 

A Happy  Christmastide.  Lyrics.  Second  Edition.  By  M.  Watson,  S.J. 
Melbourne  : J.  Roy  Stevens. 

Queen  Esther.  An  Adaptation  in  English  Verse  of  Racine’s  Esther.  In 
Three  Acts.  By  Michael  Watson,  S.J.  Melbourne  : The  Advocate  Press.  Pp.  23. 

Ballads  of  Erin’s  Golden  Age.  By  Michael  Watson,  S.J.  Second  Edi- 
tion. Melbourne,  244-250  Lonsdale  St.:  J.  T.  Picken,  Printer.  Pp.  40. 

Songs  of  the  Open.  Words  by  Mary  Grant  O’ Sheridan  ; Music  by  W.  C.  E. 
Seeboeck  ; with  Decorations  by  Enos  Benjamin  Comstock  and  George  Markley 
Hurst.  Chicago  and  New  York  : Rand,  McNally  & Co.  1904.  Pp.  v — 96. 

Official  Report  of  the  Thirteenth  Universal  Peace  Congress.  Held 
at  Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.,  October  3 to  8,  1904.  Boston:  The  Peace  Congress 
Committee.  1904.  Pp.  351. 

Apologia  pro  Foedere  Abstinentiae.  By  the  Rev.  Edward  F.  X. 
McSweeny,  D.D.,  Mount  St.  Mary’s  Seminary,  Emmitsburg,  Md.  Published  by 
the  Priests’  Total  Abstinence  League  of  America.  Pp.  14. 

Herders  Konversations-Lexikon.  Dritte  Auflage.  Reich  illustriert  durch 
Textabbildung,  Tafeln  und  Karten.  Vierter  Band,  H.  bis  Kombattanten.  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  : B.  Herder.  1905.  Pp.  1790.  Price,  $3.50  net. 

Catholic  Truth  Society,  London,  England. — The  Living  Rosary , by  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Procter,  O.P.;  The  Perpetual  Rosary,  by  the  Rev.  Fr.  Procter,  O.  P. ; 
The  Lenten  Gospels  (exclusive  of  Holy  Week),  Credo , A Simple  Explanation  of  the 
Chief  Points  of  Catholic  Doctrine , by  Mother  Mary  Loyola  ; Two  English  Martyrs  : 
Ven.  John  Body  Layman , and  Ven.  John  Munden , by  John  B.  Wainewright  ; The 
Christian  Revolution , by  William  Samuel  Lilly.  Price,  One  Penny.  The  Lord's 
Afnbassador  and  Other  Tales , by  M.  E.  Francis  (Mrs.  Francis  Blundell).  Price,  is. 
Winnie’s  Vocation  and  Other  Tales , by  Frances  Noble.  Price,  is.  6d. 


Gaylord  Bros.  ■ 

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PAT.  JAN.  21,  1908 


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